Stress of any kind, physical or emotional or other, affects your limbic system. It also causes your nervous system to become active which causes diseases and mental exhaustion.
We all have stress. And we’ve all had trauma, even if it’s only the trauma of birth and then the trauma when we die. Trauma can come from high sugar diet, alcohol, smoking, other substances and, of course, stress.
Before even looking at this complicated subject, you may want to do an exercise to improve your concentration/relaxation/fatigue. Ways to Calm the Limbic System.
If your limbic system is hyperactive, you could have flight response or a freeze response. This can cause palpitations, restless legs, cold peripheries, any inflammation. This often feels worse when you are not busy, and especially at night, when the limbic system is most hyperactive. Often we are unaware.
If your limbic system is hyperactive, you could have flight response or a freeze response. This can cause palpitations, restless legs, cold peripheries, any inflammation. This often feels worse when you are not busy, and especially at night, when the limbic system is most hyperactive. Often we are unaware.
If you have a natural Freeze response – people more inclined to withdraw from others, keep their emotions to themselves – this freezes the limbic system and can often cause weight gain, poor motivation and a feeling that you have little control over your life.
A freeze response can affect your ability to motivate yourself – to move to action. Think of a swimmer in a pool of water, swimming from the bottom of the pool to the top to come up for air. If you have a freeze response, it is hard to motivate yourself to change, to move. It can be as if the water is frozen and you have to push through a block of ice to the top. Freeze responses are harder to work through.
If you have a natural Flight response – you are more likely a person to keep yourself excessively busy, doing things to occupy your attention, anything not to think about the past your or your own feelings. These people often use words like – too busy, so hectic. Always thinking of others and doing things for other.
If you have had trauma like rape or a very difficult childhood, you do need to speak to your health care provider before working on this page. Even listening to someone talking about trauma can cause immense stress if you happen to have PTSD. No matter how strong a person you are, if you have had severe trauma, it can be stuck in your limbic system.
Below is a video on anxiety which goes with trauma.
If you are suffering in pain or have stress, it is hard to focus. Watch the video for a short while the pause. You can visit it again later. When you have severe stress or pain, it is very hard to concentrate on anything – hard enough to put one step in front of the other and breathe. Take your time going through the page. There are different explanations of Limbic system. Good luck.
Limbic system can light up with any kind of stress – illness, pain, even overexcitement can cause problems. Trauma and inherited trauma – like children of parents who have been in residential schools can inherit trauma – this all can affect the limbic system.
Trauma and stress changes the brain. Here is a link explaining epigenetics and how it causes fibromyalgia and inflammation. These changes are also true for diabetes, PCOS, many diseases.
I would suggest, if you feel safe to do this, to complete the Childhood Experiences Form and Adult Trauma Score form. This will help you see how much trauma you have had in your life. Many people have had trauma. My childhood experiences score is 16 out of 28. Thank goodness I was able to get help.
Symptoms of trauma/childhood or adult bad experiences can lie dormant until you reach your seventies, even eighties. I have a patient who was never ill, and now has been triggered and has become physically extremely ill from the trauma. There is no disease yet that we can detect. So if we process this trauma, hopefully we can prevent illness.
Hearing Impaired? Or not keen on my jarring voice? The written transcript is below the videos at the end of the page.
Almost all trauma goes with shame. Shame that we’re not good enough. Not a good enough mother or a good enough father or a manly man. Most people with trauma blame themselves – why didn’t i do something. Why didn’t I tell someone. Shame is part of a trauma response.
Many of us, about 20% are wired differently to the rest of the world. I am neurodiverse because of complex PTSD, I have anxiety, depression, ADHD, and am socially anxious to the extreme causing difficulty interacting with people who aren’t my patients. In my role as doctor, I have learned how to cope better.
People who have spectrum disorders, like autism or Asperger’s syndrome also have neurodivergency.
These exercises can help. Ways to Calm down.