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Nervous System Reset

The following are different techniques and modalities to interact directly with your nervous system, for the purpose of resetting your baseline (default) to an appropriate balanced state.

 

These techniques can be done individually, and also work very well when coupled together as a multi-pronged approach to interacting with your nervous system. All can be done at home, though some are more frequently done in person. 

 

The techniques/modalities are:


 

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Physiology of Stress

In understanding how these modalities work and why they are useful for rebalancing your nervous system, it is important to have a basic understanding of the physiology of stress, as well as the physiology of a calm, balanced state. 

 

Our autonomic nervous system has two main components, or branches: the sympathetic (fight/flight) and parasympathetic (rest/digest). As the colloquial names suggest, the two branches are balanced opposites. 

 

In a calm, balanced state, they are both on-line in an alternating fashion, so at any given moment, you are somewhere in the middle of the two poles - balanced. 

 

In a stress state, the parasympathetic (rest/digest) branch is turned off, leaving only the sympathetic (fight/flight) active. This is fundamentally a threat mitigation system, and your body responds automatically. In order to deal with the (perceived) threat, your physiology does some very specific things to facilitate the expected intense activity of either fighting or fleeing. 

 

These are:

  • elevated heart rate 

  • decreased heart rate variability

  • increased sweat gland activity

  • thoracic (chest) breathing, rapidly and shallowly

  • increased muscle tension in the upper back, shoulders, and neck to facilitate the rapid thoracic breath as well as defensively brace to be hit or offensively coil to hit

  • blood is shunted from your extremities (hands and feet) to your trunk and core, as in a fight/flight situation you need raw power, not fine articulation of fingertips

  • vision narrows (tunnels).

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If we think about that list, it makes sense why they would be useful in helping us fight better or flee faster. 

 

What we want to do, however, is use this understanding of the physiology of stress in order to down-regulate our stress response, by doing the opposite. It’s a very simplistic concept.

 

Any one of those biometrics can be measured and used via biofeedback for you to manipulate them, but there are 3 main ones I focus on, at least before moving on to the others. They are:

  • Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

  • Respiration: rate and style (diaphragmatic (belly) vs. thoracic (chest))

  • Sweat gland activity (GSR)

 

Using biofeedback, which is simply measuring biometrics and feeding them back to you in order to manipulate them, we can train them to do the opposite of the stress response, thereby sending the signal within your internal feedback loop saying “hey, we’re doing the physiological calm/safe thing, therefore we must be safe and can calm down.”

 

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HRV Biofeedback

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) refers to the variation in heart rate from beat to beat. This variation occurs when the two branches of your nervous system, parasympathetic and sympathetic, are both online and alternatingly balancing each other. 

 

High HRV means indicates a calm state. 

 

Low HRV usually indicates a stress state, where the parasympathetic (rest/digest) branch is turned off and the sympathetic (fight/flight) is dominant, keeping you physiologically ready to deal with the (perceived) threat. 

 

Our goal, then, is to increase your HRV. We do this via slow, deep, diaphragmatic breathing. Again, this is the opposite of ‘stress breath’ which is rapid, shallow, and thoracic (chest). By intentionally changing the mechanics of your breath to the calm version, it signals your system saying ‘hey, we’re doing the physiological calm/safe thing, therefore we must be safe and can calm down.’ 

 

How to Train at Home

Typically I am able to teach HRV Biofeedback to clients in 1-2 sessions. I strongly suggest learning it properly, as I have had a number of clients who tried to learn it on their own and were doing it improperly. Once learned, there are two main ways I prefer training at home:

  • FlowMD

    • https://flowmd.co 

      • (use my referral code for a free trial: brian)

    • this is an app on your smartphone and can measure both heart rate and respiration style/rate, and does not require another device besides your phone

 

 

 

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GSR Biofeedback 

Galvonic Skin Response (GSR) refers to the level of electrical conductivity on your skin. This is a derivative of your sweat gland activity. The more activated your sweat glands are, the higher the conductivity. The less activated your sweat glands are, the lower the conductivity. 

 

Measuring GSR, usually on your palm or fingertips, provides a direct window into your nervous system activity. In a stress (fight/flight) state, your sweat glands activate in order to cool your body during the intense physical activity assumed to be imminent.   

 

Through GSR Biofeedback, you learn to lower your sweat gland activity, thereby restoring balance to your nervous system by taking it out of a sympathetic (fight/flight) dominant state. 

 

How to Train at Home

GSR usually requires less coaching from my end, as it is less of a mechanical action the way HRV Diaphragmatic breath is. I typically suggest clients buy an at home device, though I do not have a preferred one. Below is the most typically purchased GSR trainer:

 


 

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Cold Water Exposure

Cold water exposure can be thought of as an intentionally or artificially induced stress state. When cold water first hits your body, you automatically gasp. This gasp is the activation of the sympathetic (fight/flight) in the face of a threat, as the cold water is not long-term sustainable. 

 

The fight/flight response shunts blood from your extremities to your core. In this case, it serves  to protect vital organs. It is this very same response that happens when you are confronted by a lion intent on eating you, and you need raw power in your trunk/core to fight or flee. Your nervous system responds to every (perceived) threat the same way, no matter the threat. 

 

As part of the stress response to the cold water, your breath becomes rapid, shallow, and thoracic (chest). Starting to see a pattern? 

 

Your goal is now to modulate your breath back to slow, deep, diaphragmatic (belly) breath, exactly as practiced in HRV Biofeedback. By doing so, you trigger your parasympathetic (rest/digest) branch to come back online, thus restoring balance to your nervous system in the face of a stressor. This builds resilience into your system, making you both less reactive to stressors and also capable of controlling your nervous system when it does spike.

 

How to Train at Home

This one is the simplest in that it does not require any extra device. Simply find cold water and plunge! Cold showers work as well.

 

If just beginning, it is fine to titrate into this by beginning with mildly cold water and over days and weeks increase to colder temperatures. 

 

It is important that you don’t just shock yourself by dipping in cold water and then leave, as all you’ve done is stress your system without rebalancing it. Bringing your breath back to a relatively normal pace is the key - that is how you teach resilience in the face of stress.


 

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Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)

The Safe & Sound Protocol, based on Polyvagal Theory, provides auditory stimulation via computer filtered music to balance the Vagus nerve. The Vagus nerve is the main component of the parasympathetic ('rest/digest') branch of the nervous system. Think of it as the balanced opposite of the sympathetic ('fight/flight') response. 

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When you are feeling stress, it means you are 'sympathetic dominant.' In this state, your parasympathetic branch, which is meant to act as a 'brake' on the 'fight/flight' response, is offline. In order to be a calm, functioning person, you need balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches. If you are chronically stressed or otherwise imbalanced, the SSP can help restore that balance.

 

For more info on the technicalities of the SSP, click here.

 

How to Train at Home

The SSP is 5 hours of computer filtered music. It is tailored to you, and can look like 1hr/day for 5 days in a row, 30min/day for 10 days in a row, or some combination in between. 

 

The SSP can be done fully remotely, on your own time and in your own space.

 

The SSP can only be accessed via a licensed and trained practitioner. If interested, you can reach out to me, or do a search for other SSP providers. 

 

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Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback, or EEG Biofeedback, is biofeedback on brain waves. This is the exact same principle as HRV, Respiration, or GSR Biofeedback explained above, except instead of measuring, say, heart rate, we measure brain waves.

 

Neurofeedback needs to be individuated, and best practice is to base the protocol off of a combination of an objective brain scan (qEEG) and subjective symptomatology. 

 

Until this section, we’ve been discussing the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Neurofeedback interacts more directly with the Central Nervous System (CNS) which emanates from the brain stem and upper spinal column. The CNS and ANS inform each other in a bi-directional feedback loop. For example, doing HRV Biofeedback to achieve balance in the ANS will send signals to the CNS and have an impact on brain wave activity. Similarly, by achieving certain brain wave patterns, a signal will be sent from the CNS to the ANS. 

 

While protocols need to be individuated, there are certain standard protocols. I will explain one here just to give an example. 

 

A very typical protocol is called SMRu at Cz. This stands for Sensory Motor Rhythm - increase, at location Cz, which is the exact top-middle of your scalp if you draw a line connecting each earlobe together. 

 

EEG (brainwaves) are measured in Hz. Sensory Motor Rhythm (SMR) is 12-15hz. I like to think of this range as a bridge between Alpha (8-12 Hz) and Beta (12-30 Hz). 

 

Alpha (8-12 Hz) is the beginnings of sleep, or early stages in meditation, or a kind of day-dreamy state - calm and unfocused. 

 

Beta (12-30 Hz) spans quite a large range. Lower Beta is the beginnings of focus, and as you increase along the Beta range, you get into more intense focus, which for some transforms into anxiety. 

 

SMR (12-15 Hz), then, is the bridge between the calm, day-dreamy state (Aplha), and the focused, concentrated state (Beta). If you can produce more SMR at location Cz, you can live more from a place that is balanced between calm and focus. 

 

(This should start reminding you of the way I describe balance between the Sympathetic (‘fight/flight) and Parasympathetic (‘rest/digest’) branches of the Autonomic Nervous System). 

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How to Train at Home

Of all the modalities listed, Neurofeedback is by far the most technically complex. Best practice is to have a brain scan (qEEG) done and use that data coupled with your expressed symptoms to determine your Neurofeedback training protocols. This is typically done in an office setting, though there are various ways to do this at home, and they are almost always done in concert with a professional. 

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High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT workouts are explosive, maximum effort, cardio intensive exercises, followed by short rests, done in repeating intervals. Exercise durations rarely exceed 60 seconds, as it is very difficult to maintain maximum effort for longer than this. Rest durations are typically between 60-120 seconds. Overall HIIT workouts are typically 10-30 minutes. 

 

The timing is specific as it is intended to achieve 90%+ of maximum cardiac output during the exercise segments, and resting segments should see your heart rate no lower than 60% maximum output. Diehard HIIT enthusiasts will say that if this isn’t your cardiac output, you aren’t doing HIIT. 

 

Putting this in the context of our nervous system and how we’ve been discussing it, HIIT workouts provide an excellent opportunity for two things. We can think of HIIT workouts as an artificially created stress response, as you become sympathetic dominant to achieve this high level of physical activity. 

 

First, this allows you to interact with yourself in the Sympathetic Dominant (‘fight/flight’) state, without experiencing it as anxiety. This is a subtle, but crucial distinction. As you spend more time intentionally in this state, you become more familiar with it and better able to tolerate it. Then, when you are experiencing anxiety, you will be more equipped to tolerate it and not react to it. 

 

Second, this artificially created stress state provides a great opportunity to practice regulating yourself, both during the workout and afterwards. The more practiced you become in HIIT workouts, the more adept you become at using the rest segments to regulate yourself, bringing your heart rate down and using the precious seconds to recalibrate. Then, after the HIIT workout, you have an excellent opportunity to intentionally recalibrate to baseline, say by doing HRV Biofeedback training. 

 

Done intentionally, over time this practice will allow you to more consciously interact with your nervous system and train it to be more responsive to you and more resilient. 

 

How to Train at Home

A simple Google or Youtube search will bring up countless HIIT workouts. The great thing about HIIT is that they are usually all bodyweight, so no equipment is needed. My personal favorites involve Burpees.



 

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

If we played the Sesame Street game ‘which of these things is not like the others,’ KAP would be the one thing on this list that stands out. The other modalities on this Nervous System Reset Protocol are pretty specific and targeted. KAP is a bit more amorphous and nebulous. For a more in depth discussion, you can learn how all of these modalities, including KAP, interact here

 

Without getting too technical, Ketamine interacts with the brain's GABA and Glutamate systems, as well as calming Amygdala and Hypothalamus activity (think: ‘lizard brain’). The combined effect allows for a decreased fear response and increased neuroplasticity, thereby freeing resources for growth and change. In the context within which we’ve been speaking, this creates the opportunity for resetting your nervous system, both central and autonomic.

 

The lens through which this Nervous System Reset Protocol is viewing your nervous system is as stress as a default state. KAP is a powerful therapeutic modality that can help rewire that, both psychologically and neurophysiologically. 

 

Ketamine: Medical Model vs. Assisted Therapy (KAP) Model

There are two ways Ketamine is used (apart from as an anesthetic for surgeries). 

 

The first is called the Medical Model. This recognizes the neurochemical effects of Ketamine as being anti-anxiety, anti-depressive, and rapidly anti-suicidal. The Medical Model says, “get this chemical into your system, and it will have this beneficial effect on your system.” 

 

The Assisted Therapy (KAP) Model recognizes the neurochemical effects of Ketamine, and also recognizes that there is a psychological, or experiential, component that comes along with that. The Ketamine experience, from the KAP lens, is viewed as a powerful window of opportunity to work with, and work through, psychological issues which may be contributing to your dysregulation. In this sense, the Ketamine is really an adjunct, or assistant, to the therapeutic process - not the end in itself. I’ve had many clients reach out to me after having the Medical Model, expressing that they wished someone was there to help them make sense of their experiences while on Ketamine, as they sensed a missed opportunity. 

 

How to do at Home

I always do KAP in my office. While there are numerous companies which prescribe Ketamine for at home use, without a therapist, and while I am staunchly in favor of individual liberty and the right to make your own mistakes (and learn from them), I also believe in the therapists role in KAP. 

 

That being said, I also operate from what is called a ‘harm reduction’ lens, where I can work on proper preparation and integration of non-ordinary-states-of-consciousness-experiences, while not encouraging illegal activities.

HRV Biofeedback
GSR Biofeedback
Cold Water Exposure
SSP
NFB
HIIT
KAP
Contact me

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