What Nervous System State Are You In? Long Covid Recovery
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- Are you aware of the sensations that exist in your body for each of the nervous system states? In Long Covid, most people have been told to focus on symptoms. It's much more helpful to focus on sensations. But how do you know what sensations are present in each stage? In my latest UA-cam video, I cover each stage and the sensations associated with it.
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REMINDER: The information provided in this video is for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be construed as medical advice. Make sure to do your own research and consult with trusted healthcare professionals before making any decisions about what may be right for you.
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#NervousSystem #fightorflight #LongCovid - Наука та технологія
I'm entering my 3rd year of this craziness. It's funny that after I lived through being hospitalized and being on full-time oxygen for 11 months, I was going to go back to living. Boy, was I wrong! I'm definitely not where I was with the 3-day anxiety episodes with suicidal thoughts, but every day is still a battle. I have spent all my savings, over 30k in treatments and things to help, and I can see the finish line, but I am just not sure how to get there, and I'm broke now. I will say that I am very grateful for people like you, Dr. Sally, and people who are out there trying to help everyone. Thank you!
If you can find $20 for my book there will probably be some additional gems to help you. It’s hard to organize content on YT systematically cos of the algorithm … but in the book it definitely is! And I’d not, lots to be found here too!
I just bought it. Here we go!@@sallyriggs465
I can't find anyone around me to help me to understand this extremely horrible long COVID insomnia. You have no idea how much I appreciate your videos, particularly this one, to give me more knowledge and encouragement to go through it. Thank you so so much!
So sorry to hear that Coco did you see my video on Insomnia? its here just incase ua-cam.com/video/f7-lg-3tpXs/v-deo.htmlsi=4e9lcjjHMCE82iXn And more than welcome!
I understand, I am experiencing this never ending, nothing works insomnia too 😢
Mirtazapine is the only thing that helps me sleep (prescription)
@@lilmac-sh1xd I tried this, unfortunately it gave me bad side effects.
Thank you Sally !! At last I understand that I am in Shut Down a lot of the time, I can see how I go in and out of f or f and shut down with the occasional calm state, usually only when I have had a hit of sugar and finally get some energy. I can also see how much of my childhood would have been in f or f mode, right from birth, and CFS/ME for the lsat 22 years was me going into Shut Down. People, 'experts' per se, are always talking abt f or f but not much abt Shut Down. SD also explains why my stomach digestion is so slow and bad and does not funx as it should . I will be following you closely.
So glad to hear this is resonating. And yes it’s so weird that no one talks about shutdown. When I was experiencing severe chronic fatigue with long covid it felt so obvious - we literally live shutdown everyday.
Hi Sally, great video, but may I suggest that you rethink the frequency of the camera angle changes. At some points in this video it was changing every few secounds, which I find very tiring cognitively, and as you know, those of us with long covid need to guard our energy carefully.
Thanks so much for the feedback!
Dr Sally ... well done ... natural teacher. I've subscribed. Long Covid after 3/2020 covid infection .. 11/2022 covid infection and 2/2023 covid infection. I get better then do to much and crash. Thank you for your support. Robb
More than welcome!
Me too, 2020, reinfection 2021 and just this past December/Jan again. Good luck!
Thank you! Ive been saying that i feel so disconnected from my body and can't seem to read whats going on until its too late almost..for example, if i feel 'good' and decide to try to walk or do exercise, i don't gradually feel tired, i go until all of a sudden it is like im unplugged and i feel i cant move another step. It is so crazy to feel so apart from my own body. Also, love that color green on you:)
Aww thanks for the sweet compliment! Yes so what is happening there, because we need energy to complete each nervous system cycle, if you feel "good" its probably not quite rest and digest, its maybe fight or flight but super pushing close to rest and digest, and then if you go for a walk your body spends all its energy on that, can't complete the cycle and slams back down to freeze. It pains us all to hear (and I have been there I promise you) but PLEASE stop doing stuff on the days you feel good. Just feel good, enjoy the good, be in your body and notice what rest & digest feels like, and don't use up that precious energy that you will need very soon for your nervous system.
@@sallyriggs465 thank you so much for your reply. I think I gaslight myself because I have had periods where I've felt better and can do more. It always ends up with regression, but at the time I think I'm improving, although the majority of my symptoms are continuing to plague me at the time and I ignore that, and push through. As a person who worked out alot with running, hiking, biking, rollerblading distances and lifting, I feel like I'm used to pushing through pain and discomfort and that isn't serving me with this illness.
Excellent resource, Thank you so much. Easy to understand and a great place to start, after almost 1 1/2 years of misdiagnosis and stagnation, knowing all along that I have been in some sort of trauma state. God bless you richly for your effort.
More than welcome so glad to hear it was helpful!
It's amazing when doctors are ready to give you all kinds of harmful drugs to get the symptoms to calm down and you simply need a few things to tweak the system and release the inner tension. I'm on Cape Cod Mass. Come over for the beaches and the healthcare but get off the man-made island for medical treatment. Plymouth or Wareham actually. It's not even funny. Misdiagnosed with bipolar and mania when it's simply f and f or SD. The current doctors won't change the diagnosis and I can't get the good life insurance that I can take money from because of the meds they prescribe me and I won't take 🫂🤗 Love you And you are okay and are only going to be more well with the knowledge you are gaining. I am so stinking proud of you 💗🤟😹🎶 Keep humming along the journey and remembering the goal is to enjoy every minute of every day and night with your feelings no matter how they feel 🫂 I am learning how to do it as well as you are 🫂🎉
Wow thank you for sharing this information. Just hearing this helps me cope and gives me some clues on my own long covid journey. Severe post exertional fatigue, I just feel exhausted all the time and activity makes it worse. 15 episods and counting of tachycardia SVT for past year, but my heart shows no abnomalities from echocardiogram, ACK, nuclear imaging stress testing.
More than welcome. Sounds like you may have dysautonomia too!
@@sallyriggs465 yes thank you for validating that. dysautonomia is on my list of clues. Your videos are wonderful and spark ideas for me to find possible directions for my long covid journey.
Thankyou Sally this is incredibly helpful! During stressful situations I often get a feeling of: my head throbbing, intermittent shallow breaths and brain fog... confused on whether thats a fight or flight or a shutdown reaction? Many thanks
Sounds like fight or flight which is probably followed by shut down. That’s usually how it goes for us
Thank you, brilliant video and info. What sbout crying? Sometimes it comes with depression and hopelessness and other times it feels like a release to me so maybe taking me to rest and digest? Much gratitude.
Crying can be sadness or anger or joy so it could literally show up in any nervous system state. Secret is to figure out what’s behind the crying if you’re trying to decode your state. Or look at other signs!
Hi Sally
I just bumped in to you. I have had long covid for years but all the time been in a state of living life..maybe to 80% (family work etc).. which means that I have had many diffrent not pleasent symptoms and been in a state of not feeling the positive feelings as before I got ill. I have worked with neuroplacity since start. One thing I got to think about listening to you at Raelan Agle is how much work it is to learn it all. Neuroplacity was natural for me to learn since I am a CBT therapist who have privately been interested in Dispenza etc for years. But it is a bit of a struggle to be a student and keep on learning so much.. like all about what is the diffrent nervoussystem responses, what is needed when, and what is all these sences I get in my body everyday, physical symptomps, anixiety, tingling, heat...what ever.. telling me about my state... it can feel a bit overwhelming.. I guess you struggeled with this yourself when before recovery and probebly have met others that do.. so my questions are really, what is your thought around this need to learn vs being in the state we are as longhaulers? and my secound question is, do you have any place where you give some more examples on direct polyvagal excersises? I feel that this is something good for me to get more clearly in to my jorney..
You and all other recoverd heroes out there giving us who is still on the healing jorney tips are truly heaven sent❤ Thank you❤
Great question about the learning versus being in it! As you know all of us with LC have researchitis 🤣 the nervous system answer is you should let your nervous system lead and don’t force it. There were days when I was in experiential trainings and my body was all “let me just scroll social media right now” and that’s a sign to pull back for today and not force it. Of course that learning only comes over time as you learn the theory and permission to be lead by your nervous system constantly. Titration in everything. But to get that knowledge and understanding we have to do a bit of research 😝 second question - the most complete info on polyvagal strategies I recommend would be my book or my course (exact same content but different media etc). There are a few scattered through my channel here, but it’s hard with the UA-cam requirements/algorithm to put more than a sprinkling.
Thank you so much for your Quick response❤️I quess following and understanding your nervous system is the same as taking care of my inner state (instead of the syptoms). As I undrstood you in this video anixiety is in the fight or flight part.. Does that mean that calming tools is what my nervous system needs when anixiety comes rather than letting the energy thru by go for a walk, a calm short jog or shake it off (depending on what is ok for me in the recovery state I am, I can excercise to some extent without relapses)? In a balanced nervoussystem it feels like moving/exercising is great when you feel anxious, is it the other way around in a unbalanced nervous system?
🌸
Thanks for the video! Recognizing the three different phases is somewhat of a new concept to me but it makes a lot of sense. It sounds like if we find our rest/repair state, you’d recommend continuing to rest? Is that right? After watching this, I feel like I’ll occasionally find R/R, immediately increase activity and jump back into the F/F and shutdown cycle.
More than welcome! So glad it’s resonating. Yes to begin with definitely continue to rest when you get to R&R cos our nervous system are still very reactive and you may slip out and need the energy to move back up again. Eventually as the nervous system settles you can also do things in R&R for expansion (ie to consolidate that state a bit more) - like glimmers or gratitude practice (when you’re already feeling gratitude, not just a silly dry list)
Thank you Sally, a very good video. I feel mainly in shutdown, I am experiencing trauma/ptsd on top of everything. My life has shrunk down to Home bound. Regimented in the way i eat, taking my supplements, bedtime, the only energy is to drag myself to medical appointments then crash after. My question is, is it normal to also feel sick with a feeling of dread and doom ? To feel that your mind is empty ? I wonder whether clinical hypnotherapist could help too, perhaps for insomnia or anything really on this journey . What is your opinion ?
Yes that’s all a very normal part of shutdown! 🤗
Thank you, Sally. The exercises to get from freeze to fight or flight are helpful. How do you get from flight or flight to rest and digest?
To complete the fight or flight cycle you have about a 15 minute window to move the energy through intentionally. So any gentle intentional movement (that won’t make you crash) like rocking or push away etc.
@@sallyriggs465 Thank you. That makes sense when you have just moved into that state. But what if you have been sitting in fight or flight for a long time?
@@elizabethwood8060 learning your nervous system with a tracker and catching it sooner. We can’t be in indefinite fight or flight without going into shutdown so at some point it will initiate again and you can catch it sooner.
@@sallyriggs465 Thank you and God bless you!
Thank you so much for explaining this. I really like your videos. I have a question about PEM specifically. Do you believe that PEM is also the same as being in the freeze/shutdown? PEM being specifically following too much physical exertion. Do you think we can help ourselves come out if PEM sooner by doing nervous system soothing or do you believe anything around the mitochondrial functioning needing time to restore after too much exertion? When I get PEM the first thing I notice is unrefreshing sleep like you explain. Usually soothing exercises do help me settle/get back to sleep however there still seems to be a certain amount of time my body needs to restore itself and fully move out of shutdown. I'd live your thoughts please and thanks again for your perspective it's really helpful! X
No PEM and exercise intolerance in Long Covid are nothing to do with the freeze response. If they were your body would shut down while you were exercising not 2-3 days later. We have a number of very important research papers that were published on this recently www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/09/1223077307/long-covid-exercise-post-exertional-malaise-mitochondria. exercise intolerance is due to the fact that our mitochondria are broken and also because we have microclots. As a result when you exercise our oxygen saturation goes down (unlike everyone else where it goes up) and so we get major tissue damage and this is why we feel like crap 2-3 days later. If you have POTs you can help your HR issues by calming your nervous system, but you still have to be very careful aerobic exercise, and personally I would only recommend doing it under the expert direction of a CAWS coach.
@@sallyriggs465thanks Sally. I'm not really looking to do any exercise just yet. Sometimes just get PEM from too much moving around /usual activity. I'm just wondering how to apply your ideas when we have PEM. Do you advise just leaning into it like the freeze response? Enducing feelings of safety? What's the long term way of improving the mitochondrial function? I imagine how we respond to PEM sensations is just as important as how well we respond to the freeze/shutdown response ? Thanks!
@@lauracowan100 In that case you are using up the energy that your body needed to get out of fight or flight on something else. The nervous system is all about energy. If you waste that energy on emptying the dishwasher than you won't complete the freeze response and move up... Yes you have to lean into freeze and that is why, if you fight it you waste the energy fighting...
Your videos are blowing my mind! I have a question please. My main issues are GI related and I'm a bit confused. It sounds like I'm in both fight/flight and shutdown. I have severe bloating and burping, indigestion, burning stomach, reflux but also frequent bathroom trips and diarrhea. My gut feels extremely hyperactive with movement as there is tons of gas bubbling inside me 24/7 even overnight. So based on your info, it sounds like my digestion is suboptimal but my gut is hyperactive from all the gas/rapid movement and diarrhea. What are your thoughts on this and how would I go about implementing your advice when the sensations seemingly contradict?
No contradiction. Many of us bounce up and down between fight or flight and shutdown, we just don’t ever make it to rest and digest. Learn and befriend your nervous system and a lot of this will probably lessen.
@@sallyriggs465 that's very interesting! Thank you!
I know everyone will be different but how long did it take you to get into rest & digest?
Anyone can randomly get into rest and digest and then fall out again seconds later. That’s the wrong question. What you wanna be asking is “how long did it take to increase your vagal tone and flexibility?” When I did the SSP in September 2021 I saw dramatic improvements in about a couple months. Then I’ve spent the last 2 years learning all this stuff to solidify those gains in my nervous system. It’s gonna be a lifelong journey to restructure my life to support my ANS.
@@sallyriggs465 Thank you
I'm frustrated I am a lot better but it's still going on almost 2y
So sorry to hear that Nate, and recovery is definitely possible! 🤗