Are you stuck in your healing journey? Does it feel like your body is broken, nothing is
working, and you’re becoming more and more sensitive to everything every day?
You may need to retrain your brain
The limbic system is the part of the brain that is responsible for interpreting sensory
information and determining whether something is threatening or not. Based on this
judgement, it will prompt the nervous system to activate the “fight-or-flight” mode
(sympathetic mode) if it determines the threat is real, or return to the “rest-and-digest”
mode (parasympathetic mode) if it is benign. However, the brain doesn’t know the
difference between a tangible physical stressor and a perceived emotional one.
Because the limbic system’s job is to keep us safe, it can error on the side of caution
and remember threatening situations and the surrounding environment from past
experiences. This can lead to overprotection and hypersensitivity. When this happens,
there is a kind of “conditioning effect” that takes place in which the limbic system wires
in an association between environmental triggers like chemicals, mold, food, allergens,
etc. and the stress response. So, when the body is exposed to these triggers at a later
time, the same stress response can be induced, even though the stressor is gone.
For those struggling with a chronic health condition, especially mold toxicity, it is very
common for the limbic system to get stuck in a heightened state of alert and anxiety.
Many people also develop sensitivities to:
– Chemicals from fragrances, cleaning products, detergents, and personal care
products.
– Electromagnetic frequencies from WiFi routers, cell phones, computers, game
consoles, virtual assistant technologies like Alexa, and other wireless devices.
– Foods and food additives
– Light
– Sound
If left unaddressed, these sensitivities can wreak havoc on other systems in the body,
including the immune system, digestive system, and endocrine system. People who
develop hypersensitivities may also experience:
– Chronic fatigue
– Digestion issues
– Heartburn
– Insomnia
– Mast cell activation
– Histamine sensitivities
– Signs of aging
– Graying hair
– Adrenal fatigue
– Heart palpitations
– High or low blood pressure
– Mood changes
– Depression and/or anxiety
– Chronic inflammation
Full recovery from the illness and a reversal of sensitivities is more challenging if the
limbic system is stuck in “fight-or-flight” mode. So, special attention needs to be given to
the brain!
Limbic system retraining is a type of exercise that helps restore proper functioning of the
brain and the nervous system. There are a number of programs to help bring the body
back into equilibrium and restore health.
If you are someone who has developed hypersensitivity to your environment, to foods,
chemicals, mold, light, or sound, or if you’re someone who is challenged by anxiety
and/or depression due to the stress and frustration of chronic illness, check out the
following resources:
– Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS)
– The Gupta Program
– Primal Trust
Don’t give up! There is hope for healing! Starting one of these limbic system retraining
programs can make the work you do with your health practitioner(s) that much more
successful and effective!
Sources:
1. Jason, L. A., Porter, N., Herrington, J., Sorenson, M., & Kubow, S. (2009). Kindling and Oxidative
Stress as Contributors to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Journal of
behavioral and neuroscience research, 7(2), 1–17. Accessible
from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3022475/
2. Gupta A. (2002). Unconscious amygdalar fear conditioning in a subset of chronic fatigue
syndrome patients. Medical hypotheses, 59(6), 727–735. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-
9877(02)00321-3
3. Mitrovic, I. Fish de Pina, L. Frassetto, L., Mellin, L. (2011). Rewiring the stress response: A new
paradigm for healthcare. Hypothesis. Vol 9, No 1. https://www.ebtconnect.net/ebt_hypothesis.pdf