Should we biohack the vagus nerve?
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- What do YOU think - should we try to ‘biohack’ the vagus nerve? This video was inspired by a short form article I wrote a month or so ago (with the same title).
irenelyon.com/...
But, I wanted to talk this out and explain in depth.
There is much complexity when it comes to healing the nervous system and accessing this vagus nerve of ours. You’ll see!
Here are some of my past videos and lectures on the vagus nerve and the polyvagal theory:
irenelyon.com/...
irenelyon.com/...
Special Topic Lecture - All Things Polyvagal: • All THINGS Polyvagal. ...
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Thank you for being here!
1. Leave a comment and let me know how this video impacted you. Feel free to leave a question (my team answers them each week!)
2. To get more nervous system health resources, plus learn more about me and my credentials, plus the many ways you can work with me at the practical level, head to my website: irenelyon.com
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Please know that...
The statements on this UA-cam channel or in videos are simply opinion. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or a professional therapeutic relationship. Content presented or posted is intended to provide general health information for educational purposes only and you should contact the appropriate healthcare professional before relying on any such information.
My website is a wealth of information, free resources, and information on how to start this work, so here it is one more time: irenelyon.com
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Brilliant explanation of a complicated system
The vagus nerve hacks are just a very temporary fix for me and this is on my days where the stress is light. Any big nervous system issue using the techniques to hack the vn does not work whatsoever. My parents weren't super abusive or anything but there were some pretty major mental health on my maternal side but my mom was a decent mom when I was a baby/toddler/young child.
There are so many people on social media that are addressing the nervous system issues and they are not even close to understanding it like you do. It's actually a big topic I think because so many people are having mental issues right now or maybe just admiting it. Many are not educated enough on the topic to be putting out courses. I have almost jumped on and joined I'm glad i didn't because they are not qualified. There is a lot of misinformation going on. I'm so happy I found you! Thank you for doing what you do 💜
Hi CrEative HeArt, Seth here with Team Lyon. Thank you for being here!! I'm so glad you found this content because yes, there is so much out there that does not have even close to the depth of understanding necessary to truly heal trauma and restore regulation. I'll encourage you to explore Irene's free resources when you get a chance - lots of good practical tools there for starting to do this work ... irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/
Absolutely..any kind of breathing exercise doesn't relax me as it's supposed to but leaves me on edge and panicky.. lovely to hear that people are starting to understand this subject ❤️
I keep telling my therapists over the years that deep breathing does not work for me, it makes me more panicky, but they keep suggesting that I do it and they don't believe me when I say it doesn't work.
Same!!!
I was in a room for about 2 hrs with the EE system and it was like being in a very high energy dimension. Everything feels clearer and less polluted.
Really insightful information... And it's good to understand that things are really complex and cannot be solved unfortunately with just one technique.
Thank you Irene, I'm so happy I found you a few days ago, I am going through a huge physiological release after 14 years of deep inner work, energy healing, yoga, meditation, sound healing etc, but this last 2 weeks my body responded to a trigger that facilitated a huge physical PTS response that I have never experienced & was overwhelming, but it was the catalyst to a huge releasing/opening on a much deeper physiological release, with deeper insights/revelations that has helped me understand so much more about my Self, & watching your videos has helped me to understand my whole life I have been in dysregulation, early developmental trauma, plus many other traumas ( never heard of anyone experiencing the amount of traumas that I have experienced). I had PTSD after a couple of serious accidents, & I now recognise I have been living in a freeze state, more so the last 2 years, huge fear/terror, triggered by this pandemic story (respiratory related - I was trapped in the birth canal) .. all my life I have had nervousness/butterflies in my gut, I learned to live with it, but its really not nice... on 'high alert' mode...so now, to work on regulation & learning the science of the nervous system through your program, so that I can also go deeper & help my clients with a much better understanding. Thank you for sharing your amazing knowledge. Mia 🙂
Thanks so much for being here Mia! This is Seth with Team Lyon. Please keep watching, learning and healing, we're so glad you found us :)
Thanks for this video and the nuance.
I’m not into the idea of hacking anything, but supporting and optimizing and harmonizing, sure.
I made myself a vagus nerve stimulator last summer from a tens unit. I’ve done SBSM (well, most of it!), and have done somatic work with my general therapist as well as an SE practitioner. My history includes both developmental and acute trauma, so there is/was a lot in there! My primary concerns were PTSD, selective mutism, and severe social phobia.
The VNS changed my life. HOWEVER, this was used along with (and after years of) therapy and SE. I don’t think it would have had such an effect on its own. After weeks of using it, fights with my husband decreased 75% because I was suddenly able to discern between an actual rude comment and him being busy, distracted, or unintentionally insensitive. I previously thought he was just being an asshole all the time. And like all humans, he can sometimes, though me constantly accusing him of being hurtful definitely made things worse!
It was so life-changing, when we were discussing the year’s highlights on NYE, my husband brought up the VNS! My use made a huge difference to him too.
It’s definitely not enough by itself but is a HUGE support for the work I’ve been doing for 6 years now. I tend to lose things, and when I don’t use it for a few days or a week, I feel more burnt out and like I’m just gritting my teeth through life. It’s not necessarily a noticeable feeling when it’s on, but it’s definitely helping in the background!
How did you make the tens machine please?
This confirms what I thought is going on... I LOVE to sing really loud in my car, but lately, I've been having more anxiety and since a few years had some panic attacks while driving for long times especially on the highway. It's as if my body doesn't like the speed... I'm totally fine driving in the busy city, no problem. But on the highway it seems to trigger me...
Anyway, I love to sing but lately, sometimes if I sing loud, I can suddenly feel a panic coming, I feel it in my breath, and then I can't sing anymore because it's just triggering more of the panic state. I try to calm down because I still wanna sing, sometimes I'm able to, but other times it's like I can't calm my nervous system enough and each time I try to sign it will just trigger that panic again. It's super frustrating! But I knew it was linked to singing, the voice, and the vagus nerve... Same if I am in a panic or close to it, I cannot talk because it just triggers it even more!
Hello, I am intrigued and very glad I found this video. I am wondering if you can give me some direction of what to do from here in my situation. I am intrigued because I am coming from a program for nervous system regulation that uses vagal toning exercises and I have experienced pretty extreme and prolonged and difficult physical and sometimes emotional symptoms from just doing a little. I have also seen benefits from them. But overall I have not felt like my system is able to tolerate them and so I have not been able to progress very far into the program. I am wary about trying things partly because of my body’s responses to these exercises but I feel I need to do something different and I need guidance. Irene seems to have more understanding and could have some resources that I could benefit from but I am not sure where to start. I don’t want to do anything that is too much for my system if possible. I find it confusing because I know this journey can be challenging but I don’t know if I’m doing something counter productive in the name of persevering through the challenge. Hopefully that makes sense. Thank you for any direction you can give me.
Totally .. my self care involves doing something that helps my activation not sitting still ..
I had a daith piercing for migraines and I was high for a day and felt it was much easier to settle my nervous system however, a couple of years later, that's subsided. I did laugh though that the NHS spends £20,000 for an implant to stimulate the vagus nerve but mine was only £25 😁
Irene you are the coolest. Thank you for your amazing work! Xx
Curious your thoughts on extreme fatigue after eating? Is this connected with the parasympathetic system or regulation?
So my question is, after many year of trauma, etc, how can I tell what's produced by age and produced as a reaction of all my old emotions?
How about using a heart math device daily? Can that work to heal the vagus nerve?
alina roshberg, Jen here from Team Lyon. A HeartMath device may help you to learn about when you are in coherence, and may help you to grow access to feelings of connection. This can be complementary to, but is not the same as, growing foundational nervous system regulation and capacity.
If you haven't seen Irene's Healing Trauma video training, you might check it. Irene goes into a lot of info about how trauma happens, how it impacts us, and some of whats involved in healing. It might help you to understand why growing foundation regulation and capacity and working with stored survival responses is important to heal trauma.
free Healing Trauma video training - irenelyon.com/healing-trauma
I've got CFS and know some folks who do TENS auricular stimulation and have gotten better. However, all it's done is worsen my tinnitus. I wonder how many folks might be getting placebo effects.
Hi Bailey Struss, interesting question. Some might be getting placebo effects, and some may have underlying nervous system regulation that the TENS auricular stimulation is helping them to access. Food for thought! - Jen from Team Lyon
I'm currently suffering from PPPD. (a vestibular issue) I was wondering if there are any techniques I could implement so I don't feel so much fright about this condition. This condition is very symptom based. And it's quite scary.
In sports there is a phenomena known as "the yips", everything I have learned and lots of whst you say here lead me to believe that stress/survival physiology is the cause, even though no one has seemed to have put thst together thus far... Your brief thoughts?
Are exercises like breath exercises/resonance breathing/shaking/orienting/EMDR etc considered ‘bio hacks’? Or can they be helpful when used in conjunction with trauma counsellor? Many thanks
Hi Kerrie Hill, Jen here from Team Lyon. Somtimes those practices and modalities can be biohacks, and sometimes they can be complementary to doing this work. It can depend on a number of factors including an individual's nervous system and history, the intention they bring to the practice, and the practitioner's skill level in working with trauma (where a practitioner is involved).
What about the safe and sound protocols ?
@@Invite_the_light, Jen here from Team Lyon. I'm a trained SSP provider. It's been very helpful for some people, not as much so for others. If someone has a good solid early foundation, working through the SSP with a trained provider may be enough to support the changes they want. For those of us with early /developmental trauma, the SSP may be a supportive complement to this work, and it doesn't take the place of growing nervous system regulation.
And what about EFT when provided by a trauma aware/informed practitioner?
@@alisonshale5860 - Seth here with Team Lyon. It can be part of a treatment protocol to be sure, but EFT is more about managing symptoms and less about creating real change at the nervous system level. And, there's nothing wrong with that!
If you find that being around others makes you feel safe under specific circumstances, but you're generally fearful of people, is this an indication that only some of your social engagement wiring was set up in childhood or is it because of something else?
Hey Rebecca, Seth here with Team Lyon. It's hard to say for sure, but I think another explanation could be that you feel safe around safe people, or familiar people, but not so safe around strangers, or people who don't feel safe. If this is the case then there may simply be a bit of hypervigilance in the system, rather than faulty social engagement wiring.
@@IreneLyon Thanks for your reply. What would you recommend for getting rid of hypervigilance?
@@rebecca1839 - Seth here again. The first thing to know is, that despite the abundance of nervous system 'hacks' and tools out there that promise a quick fix, there's no one technique or tool that will do it. Coming out of hypervigilance requires first understanding our physiology and what is happening in it, and then fundamentally changing our relationship to that internal experience, and the world around us, and that means doing this work consistently and for an extended period of time, such that we establish a totally new way of being.
Luckily, this is why Irene pioneered online trauma healing and created many resources for doing this work. I suggest starting with her free resources, and if her approach resonates then start the 21 day Nervous system Tune-Up. Then, once you've integrated that learning, consider joining us for the next round of SmartBody SmartMind, our 12 week intensive. Links below. Thanks for being here and for being interested in this work!
Free Resources - irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/
21 Day Tuneup - 21daytuneup.com/
SmartBody SmartMind - smartbodysmartmind.com/
Can those of us with long covid fix our vagus nerve? There are reports coming out that it appears covid dysregulates the vagus nerve. I'm having symptoms like elevated BP, neck issues etc.
Erin - Mara here with Team Lyon. I don't have direct experience with long COVID and the vagus nerve, however, slow gentle toning of the vagus nerve with other nervous system regulation may aid your recovery.
@@IreneLyonThank you. Now, a year later, I'm wondering if someone with type 2 diabetes can repair their vagus nerve bc I'm hearing that that too is often the cause of damage to that nerve. I'm feeling discouraged.
@@erinm3567, Jen here from Irene's Team. I hear you're discouragement. While I can't say for sure what's possible in your case, we do have people with diabetes and a wide variety of health conditions see growth in nervous system regulation and capacity (which in most cases implicitly means more access to the vagus nerve) as they engage with this work over time.
Hi Irene! Had a quick question!
I'm someone that is doing EMDR therapy, can that therapy alone also hack the nervous system? Or is it better to do somatic healing first?
Thanks!
Hi Just D1z, Seth here with Team Lyon. We actually want to avoid all hacks entirely! Just curious, did you watch the video? If not, that would be the place to start.
EMDR can be helpful for many people, and is a good tool to have in the tool bag for certain pieces of work, but it is almost never enough on its own to truly restore regulation. True trauma healing and nervous system regulation comes from a total overhaul in how we understand and relate to ourselves, so a comprehensive education in stress physiology, and a wide variety of practical tools and interventions, all of which Irene offers in her online programs, is necessary. And a therapeutic relationship of some kind usually needs to be part of the process.
Hi you mention the B vitamins, what one would you recommend 🤔
Hi Frances, Seth here with Team Lyon. Irene just mentioned B Vitamins in an example about why it doesn't work to focus on one thing. since we aren't doctors or naturopaths, etc.. we aren't qualified to make recommendations about vitamins.
Curious to know if you are familiar with the Braverman Test and where nervous system healing intersects with brain neurotransmitter, and I guess I'm referring to the more baseline levels over time with healing then event specific spikes etc... For example, my results suggest I am serotonin dominant and gaba deficient. Can I change my baseline resting levels?
Hi Benjamin Ford, Jen here from Team Lyon. I am not familiar with the Braverman Test. Nervous system regulation and dysregulation impacts all the systems in the body, so it would be a reasonable assumption that your baseline levels would change if you did this work over time. Most people who did this work find that experiences of anxiety and depression (for example) dissipate or disappear completely.
I’m struggling with orienting. I just can’t keep my mind focused on anything. It just wants to run all over the place. I feel as though my resilience is worse than it’s ever been. Is it possible to try too hard?
I had the same problem. Go slowly :) otherwise its gonna get eveb worse - my experience 😅 orient for few seconds and then stop. And try in few hours again. Dont rush really.. Slowly but Surely
@@nastjavk Thank you Nastja. I will try to do that.
Hi Toni Turpin, Jen here from Team Lyon. Yes, it's definitely possible to try too hard. As Nastja suggested, it can often help to orient for a few moments at a time, and to consciously allow the attention to move back and forth between the mental activity and what you're orienting to - don't try to force anything. Sometimes it also helps to orient through the other senses, such as though touch, smell or hearing.
@@IreneLyon Thanks Jen. I will give that a try. I actually had a more successful attempt yesterday without forcing it. Much better!
@@lalanellie8396 exactly! That is great to hear! :)) yeeeey! I had problem with forcing pattern and then i exhaust myself so bad and i have to rest now. In toxic environment. Which is challenging. So i dont recommend 😄
Thankyou Irene. This makes me curious about the car accident my mom was in when she was 9 months pregnant with me. The car spun off a gravel road and flipped into a ditch where her and I where thrown from the car. I think during the first 3 weeks after I was born I didn't see her as she was recovering. So no coregulation happened. I'm very curious as to how big of this piece of the puzzle is to my current day work I have to do . Is there a way to measure that? Or is it something I have to feel into with the ns work? I have the 21day tune up. But, I'm thinking I would like to do sbsm next year when it is available, for this specific piece. Ty💕
HI Lightgrid Oracle & Tarot, Jen here from Team Lyon. These early experiences can often have a very significant impact on us as we develop and on how we experience life as we move into adulthood. A few of the ways that we can begin to get a sense of how a particular experience impacted us are by 1) noticing where we feel limited or stuck in life currently, and/or 2) by working through the event over time (and by developing foundational capacity and regulation in the case of early trauma) and noticing what changes.
If you like, you might also ask about this as you notice your experience of the different practices in the 21 Day Tune Up. And it's great to hear that you're considering SBSM! You might also consider doing some work with a trained practitioner - this can often be a powerful compliment to Irene's course and program.
@@IreneLyon thankyou Jen! That is helpful, it's Chantelle btw, from the 21 day program. Ty for taking the time to respond. I will pay attention. 🙏💕
@@lightgridoracletarot7578, you're welcome! And hi Chantelle!
Ok so how do we heal?
Hi there innerpeaceforall, Seth here with Team Lyon. Simply put, by doing the work! To start, we need a comprehensive education so that we can understand what is happening inside us, and then we need practical tools that help us work with all that, as well as good support. We also need to understand that this kind of healing is very different than the kind of 'take this pill for this symptom' approach that western medicine has popularized.
Doing this work is about stepping onto a different path, one that is about knowing ourselves deeply, and being able to facilitate our own healing in many ways. It's a total lifestyle change, and often a total change in who we think we are and how we relate to others because for so many of us, our personality was largely formed as an adaptation to trauma.
Irene offers many ways to get started. She has free resources on her site you can download and experience, to get a feel for the work, and if that resonates, you can start with her 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up. I'll put those links below.
Free Resources - irenelyon.com/free-resources-2/
21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up - www.nstuneup.com/
Piercings in the ear…
Awesome
Question. If we should not biohack for something like sexual trauma due to rape then what is the best therapy to start with?
@FlyinDogRecords, Jen here from Irene's Team. The nervous system based approach that Irene teaches can often be powerful in working with sexual trauma. I'll share some related info. If you'd like to work with a practitioner, you might search for a Somatic Experiencing practitioner. Irene also created a self-study course and comprehensive program to teach people to understand and work with their nervous system. I'll link to the self-study course, the 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up, in case you want to learn more.
How to Find a Good Somatic Practitioner - irenelyon.com/2019/11/14/how-to-find-a-good-practitioner/
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Directory - directory.traumahealing.org/
Healing Sexual Trauma - A Somatic & Nervous System Approach - irenelyon.com/2021/11/14/healing-sexual-trauma-a-somatic-nervous-system-approach/
21 Day Nervous System Tune Up - 21daytuneup.com/