Over the years I have repeatedly encountered patients who have struggled for years, even decades, with their symptoms. Often these patients have worked with very smart doctors, experts in their field, many of them well-known in the alternative medicine field. And in spite of taking all the right nutrients and trying all the right therapeutic diets and exercising and meditating and following treatment recommendations to a ‘T,’ the symptoms persist. They may ebb and flow, but the reality is that, for many of these patients, the net change over time is either zero or negative.
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that it took me over a decade to realize the central role that autonomic dysregulation plays in sabotaging even the most sensible treatment plans. Many patients have all the right therapeutic tools at their disposal, but it is like handing a Fender guitar to someone who can’t take off their mittens. Even the most talented musician won’t get much music out of it.
I made this very technically savvy overview of the ANS:
One thing to keep in mind is that sympathetic and parasympathetic activity operate like a see-saw: when one is high, the other is suppressed. Most of the people in this world are leaning heavily into sympathetic dominance because of, you know, the world. On top of that, many people grew up in environments that were unsafe or unpredictable in some way. These people will commonly acknowledge that they have always lived in a sympathetic-dominant state.
How is the body to make use of even the best therapies if they are in a state of sympathetic dominance? How can therapies to heal the gut, for example, do their best work when blood is being shifted away from the gut?
The large majority of people with any chronic disease have autonomic dysfunction. There are several therapies developed specifically to help restore this balance. The one I have found most beneficial is called Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP). This therapy involves simply listening to classical music that has been filtered of very specific frequencies. The result is an adjustment in the ‘tone’ of the vagus nerve, which is the Godfather of the autonomic/parasympathetic
I’ve been incorporating this therapy into treatment plans for the past 5 years by referring patients to Maria Zilka, the nutrition therapist I have been collaborating with for nearly 15 years. Schedule with her at https://mariazilka.com. In order to implement the therapy you have to work with someone who has been through the certification course and who can orient you to the process and give you access to the audio files. Maria does this and adds to the process her own therapy recommendations to make a comprehensive ANS-regulating
Anyone who has tried multiple treatment plans to no avail who hasn’t simultaneously done ANS-regulating therapies, it just might be the missing link. If you think this could be you, schedule with me at https://gregnigh.com for a complete treatment plan. If you are already on a plan but want to add this as a solid boost, schedule with Maria at https://mariazilka.com
