Nervous System Dysregulation Alters Your Perception of Reality

Disclaimer: Please know before reading that I am healed from being heavily polydrugged for many years and you will too!

If you are like me and have survived psych med withdrawal, or are currently living with psychiatric medication damage, then you may very well be acquainted with the concept of nervous system dysregulation. If you are unfamiliar with this term, it can be loosely defined as “an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.” The sympathetic system is what gets you ready for fight or flight and mobilizes your energy to fight off a predator. Conversely, the parasympathetic system applies the brakes and is responsible for letting you slip into rest and relaxation. Ideally, your body is able to strike a balance between these two systems where you have energy when you really need it, and can also rest and rejuvenate after a period of stress. Many bodily functions rely on your nervous system’s ability to perform this balancing act daily in order to keep you in a state of optimum health. However, if you have a nervous system injury due to medication damage, it’s very likely that you will experience frequent dysregulation. Many even spend months or years chronically dysregulated and in a terrible state of panic, akathisia, and utter despair. I want to say, up front, that there seems to be little progress that can be made by trying to think your way out of this hyper-aroused state. It is something that happens physiologically and is outside the realm of one’s cognitive ability to fix. That being said, there certainly are other ways to deal with it somatically, and various lifestyle changes that may have an impact, if practiced over time. At its base level, what we are talking about is a nervous system either stuck in, or easily triggered into the sympathetic state of hyper-activity. A medication injured nervous system has the almost impossible task of keeping us on a fine line between exhaustion and adrenal burnout.

Nervous system dysregulation manifests in many ways. It’s much more than just a state of nervousness or panic. Physically, it forces the body to get ready to fight an invisible enemy. Heart rate and blood pressure elevate, blood gets moved to different areas, and extremities can feel numb, cold, or tingly. Breathing becomes shallow and more rapid, saliva begins to dry up, and this is only the beginning. Dysregulation, for us in psych med damage, extends far beyond the mere physical symptoms. In fact, if this were all it were, we would hardly bat an eye compared to the mountain of other issues that we must face daily. To me, the real kicker in all this is the mental and psychological torture in which the dysregulated state gives birth to. For example, you may have a deep existential sense that nothing in the world is as it should be. Everything in your life feels like it’s doomed, has always been doomed, and has no possible hope of ever getting better again. Your problems look terrifying and without and possibility of resolving. Sights, sounds, smells, and people’s voices feel overwhelming and foreign. Life looms large, like tall, frightening, dark monsters that you are ill-equipped to face. You can feel them everywhere and yet powerless to keep them from advancing in on you. Then, you see a bill that needs to be paid, a family engagement that requires your presence, or some deadline that you feel you cannot possibly meet. This sends you spiraling even further into the depths until all you can manage is to weep uncontrollably. Thoughts race through your mind sometimes so fast they make you dizzy. This is what nervous system dysregulation feels like for many of us. We are hyper-aroused so often that it burns out our body’s natural chemicals that are normally used for only brief periods.

We can also get so dysregulated that we finally reach dorsal freeze mode and we begin to shut down and go almost catatonic. Once here, the only thing to do is wait until your body can get unstuck and heads back towards a normal balance. And, on the flipside of being in an overly heightened state, you may notice that when you finally do come down, you slip into a depression. This can feel like a welcomed state after being on the other extreme end, but also comes with its own set of challenges. The point being, is that your body is desperately trying to reach homeostasis and having a very difficult time of it. In light of how psychiatric drugs change how the brain regulates itself over time, this actually makes perfect sense. For example, taking an SSRI long term will down-regulate the amount of serotonin receptors in the brain as it always longs for an equilibrium and balance. When the brain has too much serotonin due to the SSRI medication, then the brain will begin to shut down its receptors in an attempt for homeostasis. Of course, once the drug is tapered or altogether stopped, the brain needs time to up-regulate the receptors and this is where all sorts of terrible withdrawal effects will come into play.

So, how does one cope with such a dizzying and wearisome game of psychological ping pong? Number one, is to recognize that reality will look, feel, and seem much more threatening that it actually is while mired in this state of being. It’s not as hopeless and desperate as it feels. This is a temporary(even if it lasts a long time) state and you will eventually pull out of it. Life will begin to look beautiful once again and you will have peace and joy once your normal, healthy brain chemicals are put back into a regulated state. I know how this all feels because I went back and forth for years before I finally began to find some solid middle-ground on which to plant myself. It’s a tiresome way to live and I applaud anyone who is having to wade through the muck of nervous system dysregulation, day after day. Just know that you’re not stuck there and you will eventually find your balance. The brain has an amazing power to heal and remains dynamic, even into old age! You aren’t going to be the one who doesn’t heal, even though we all feel like that from time to time. You’re not alone even though you must walk this path by yourself. So many others have come before you and healed, and you will too. Be gentle, kind and considerate to yourself as you trudge this path. People always ask me if it was worth all the pain, and my answer is always the same…. absolutely!