How to Heal Your Nervous System and Say Goodbye to Chronic Pain and Illness

Ever feel like your body’s been holding onto stress, pain, or illness for far too long? Like your nervous system’s got the wrong memo and is still preparing for a threat that no longer exists? You’re not alone. But here’s the good news: your nervous system isn’t broken, it’s just doing exactly what it thinks you want it to do. And with a little bit of attention, you can help it get back on track.

So, let’s start with the basics:

What exactly is your nervous system?

Think of it as the body’s personal messaging system, running through your brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It keeps your heart beating, your lungs breathing, and even helps you enjoy a cup of tea. Everything from digestion and immunity to reproduction and movement is controlled by this network. And when it’s out of whack? Well, that’s where the trouble begins.

But before you think your nervous system needs “regulating”—nope, that’s not it. Despite what trendy wellness tips might say, the nervous system doesn’t need regulating; it does the regulating. It might be a little overactive (constantly on guard) or underactive (feeling a little sluggish), but the system itself is functioning just as it's supposed to - protecting you. Picture an old-fashioned set of scales—sometimes it dips into fight-or-flight, sometimes it leans into rest-and-digest, but ideally, it returns to balance after every dip. When our nervous system is constantly heightened, it's like a heavy weight being constantly on one end of the scales.

The Fight-or-Flight Frenzy

Speaking of fight-or-flight, let’s chat about the autonomic nervous system. It’s split into two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (your survival mode) and the parasympathetic nervous system (your relaxation mode).

Imagine you’re watching a thriller. Your heart starts racing, you might even grip the edge of your seat, and that’s your sympathetic system kicking in. It’s there to help you fight off danger or run away from it. But here’s the catch: it doesn’t know the difference between a real threat and something in your head—like a movie, or even your stress about tomorrow’s deadlines.

Now, when your sympathetic system is on overdrive, things like digestion, reproduction, and healing take a back seat, because these are not considered necessary when you could be fighting for your life.

If you’re stuck in survival mode for too long, you can imagine how that might mess with your digestion, immune system, and even your ability to recover from illness or injury. It’s like having a car stuck in gear—eventually, something’s going to wear out.

And here’s a fun observation: have you ever noticed that deeply caring people—those sensitive souls who appreciate beauty in art, nature, and music—tend to carry a lot of tension? These are often the folks who take care of others, feel the weight of responsibility, and might even be a little more sensitive to criticism from others. When your brain is constantly signalling that you’re in danger (because it’s stressed), it’s not surprising that your body responds by staying tense, achy, and unwell.

The Body Keeps the Score

Of course, that’s only half the story. The somatic nervous system, which controls your muscles and senses, is just as involved in this pain puzzle. Ever notice how your body feels stiff or sore after a particularly stressful day—even if you didn’t lift a finger? That’s your somatic system reacting to what your autonomic system is telling it.

Imagine you’re preparing for battle. Your body tenses up, ready to move. Your nerves are on high alert, sensitive to any possible pain or danger. But instead of charging into battle, you’re just sitting at your desk, stewing in your stress. Your body doesn’t know that, though—it’s still primed for action, which is why you might feel sore, tight, or in pain. And sometimes, even when the danger is gone, the pain sticks around because your nervous system hasn’t gotten the message that everything’s okay again.

The Mind-Body Connection

Ever pulled your hand back from a hot stove before you even felt the burn? That’s your nervous system in action. It’s always scanning for threats and protecting you before you’re even aware of them. Now, this hyper-vigilance is great when you need it, but if your body is constantly on high alert, you can see how that might start to cause problems.

Stress, fear, and anxiety not only mess with your emotional well-being, but they also cause your muscles to tense, your digestion to slow, and your immune system to take a holiday. When we’re stuck in a cycle of worry, our body pays the price—chronic pain, recurring illness, inflammation, and, yes, the dreaded flare-ups of conditions like fibromyalgia or IBS.

So, How Do We Heal?

As you may have guessed, healing the nervous system is the key, and doing this isn’t as hard as it sounds. Healing is about teaching your nervous system that the emergency is over. You can do this by working with both your somatic system (body awareness) and your mental state (how you feel about stress). It’s like giving your brain a gentle tap on the shoulder and saying, “Hey, you can relax now.”

You can try this yourself with a two-pronged approach:

1. Mindful whole-body movements and focusing on your breath

2. Positivity, such as thought journalling, daily gratitude, and mindfulness.

   
   

   Unfortunately for many, these DIY versions simply scratch the surface. While helpful, they constantly need repeating and are often not potent enough to bring about long-term changes. It's a bit like adding counter-weights to those scales to try and bring them into balance, instead of removing the weights that were there all along.

   
   

   However, when you finally release the build up of physical tension from your body and shift how you feel about life’s stressors, your brain gets the memo that it doesn’t need to keep sending out those danger signals. The pain fades, the body heals, and balance is restored.

Sarah Court BSc BTAA

Pain & Stress Recovery Specialist