Could it be my nervous system?

[ilovegarlicbread5]

I have had so many troubles re anxiety/depression for years. I’ve had so many possible other things thrown at me - ADHD and OCD have been suspected by professionals.

After a consultation last week, a psychologist figured that it may not be these, but my nervous system is all out of whack due to trauma.
For context I’m in a constant state of worry and obsessing over other people’s opinions. I over apologise and people please, I can’t ever relax and enjoy myself, my breathing is terrible, I fidget, my heart rate is fast, my digestion is sometimes bad, I cry easily, I need constant reassurance. The list goes on.
I also get frequent muscle twitches. It’s all becoming crippling. I can’t enjoy anything anymore.

Could it truly be my nervous system?

I know I need therapy but the waiting list is 3-4 weeks. In the meantime I wondered if anyone had the same presentation and healed their nervous system. I wondered if anyone had any specific tips or guidance?
I know rough ideas such as meditation and journaling (I wouldn’t know where to start), anything else specific?

Thanks all

I go through it. My body and mind aren't aligned. I can have sudden panic attacks even when I'm absolutely comfortable mentally when they start. It's just my body picking up on something and reacting to it. I have PTSD.

I just ride it out the best I can. I tell myself to stop being a drama llama, everything is fine, I'm safe, chill out! Like talking to the damaged inner child, I guess. Sometimes I can handle it, other times it sends me crashing. It's exhausting being this way, you have my sympathy.

I never thought I'd like yoga. Thought it would be too boring for my over active mind and stress levels. It was amazing. I definitely recommend it. We'd lie down at the end of class and put a weighted eye mask on. I secretly slept every single time! In the middle of a room full of people. I was truly relaxed there as I struggle to sleep and stay asleep but the yoga definitely helped my body to calm. There's also grounding techniques I learn there. When you're anxious, look out of the window and notice the different colours of the leaves, the heights of the trees, the sounds of the birds etc. Bring yourself into that very moment.

I think I have PTSD too. I’ve tried yoga and was annoyed I didn’t feel completely relaxed after one session - I’ve never stuck to it 😂. I definitely want to give it a proper try.
Thank you :)

OP you sound like me before treatment. I have Complex PTSD. PTSD is when one traumatic experience happens like a car crash or accident.

Complex PTSD is when you’re retraumatised over and over like living in a war zone or in my case growing up with an emotionally and mentally abusive narcissistic mother.

I had to work hard every day to keep switching from sympathetic nervous system (fight flight) to parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relax).

Look up Dr. Nicole LaPera she’s the Holistic Psychologist on Instagram. Her book helped me tremendously. The fact that she’s got CPTSD helped enormously because she got it. Also Pete Walker’s book on Complex PTSD.

Yes, trauma plus poor gut health triggers damage to the nervous system. Autonomic dysfunction. If you're interested, look at the work of Dr Nemechek into this.

could you get some beta blockers from your GP? they may help with the physical symptoms for occasional use. I find when I am stressed I get weird bodily things, twitches etc.

This might seem mad but it helped me.
Sea swimming is supposed to be very helpful for this as every time you hit the cold water your body goes into fight or flight. After a while your body adjusts and then is better able to fight the panic/ nervous overload at other times. Obviously that's not possible for everyone but in an effort to copy the experience l started having cold showers. So l literally turn on the freezing cold shower and step in turning it to warm after a few minutes to actually wash. It's hell at first but now l would miss it if l didn't do it and l do find my reactions slowing down during the day. I have had a lot of trauma in my life and, while not as serious as your reactions, l was going into panic attacks for no reason and any little upset in the day set me haywire. It has improved...definitely. Keep going with the counselling as long as you can when you get called and try and do a little exercise..like a walk everyday.

I have an ADHD diagnosis, but really it's just my brain that is hyperactive.

About six months ago I discovered an app called MindValley (I think it was one of those random Facebook pop up ads) and a program on it called 'Everyday Bliss'. This honestly helped me more than any therapist, self help book or medication ever has.

There are lots of different programs on MindValley and I haven't tried many of them, so there maybe some others on there that would be helpful, but I can't recommend the Everyday Bliss program enough for helping me not feel permanently stuck in 'fight or flight mode' and overthinking everything.

MindValley is expensive (£90 a month) but I was paying that for a weekly psychotherapy session for over a year and this app has helped me more. I think there is a short free trial of MindValley you can do before paying anything so you can try it first.