Sympathetic Dominance: When your body is in a state of “fight or flight” (Sympathetic) more often than “peace and repair” (Parasympathetic).
There was a season in my life where I was working as a Physical Therapist in an extremely stressful environment. Although the stress was emotional, it manifested itself in physical symptoms. For example: headaches, low back pain, ganglion cyst, referred pain, decreased patience, weight gain, and anxiety. Pile on being a wife and raising three children and I could have been the poster child for Sympathetic Dominance.
When working optimally, your Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems should work together effortlessly in order to maintain an internal balance. Because we live in an insanely fast paced world that makes us believe we have to be “on the go” at all times, a high percentage of people live in Sympathetic dominance.
Why is this unhealthy?
The American Institute of Stress estimates between 75-90% of visits to primary-care physicians result from stress-related disorders. (Who Switched Off My Brain? controlling toxic thoughts and emotions, Dr. Caroline Leaf)
Our bodies repair and heal when they are in a Parasympathetic state. If we cannot attain and maintain a Parasympathetic state, then our bodies are not going to optimally heal themselves in response to physical and emotional stressors.
My own personal example above is full of emotional and physical responses of being in a Sympathetic dominant state. Some other very common responses are: chronic anxiety, rapid pulse, high blood pressure, feeling wired but tired, inability to turn off your inner dialog and “slow-down”/relax, poor sleep patterns, and feeling constantly rushed. The great news is that we have the ability to retrain our bodies how to enter a Parasympathetic state so that we can maintain a healthy balance between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic.
Returning your body to a Parasympathetic state is one of the many benefits of CranioSacral Therapy (CST). CST not only treats the physical symptoms you may be having, but it also moves your body towards homeostasis and a parasympathetic state where healing is optimal. Stress causes muscles and nerves to hold tension, CST has the ability to release those deep restrictions in the tissue. Check out this page for a more detailed explanation of how this happens. When the delicate balance between your Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems are maintained, an environment is created that can favorably respond to the physical and emotional stressors of our fast paced world!
