My Nerves Are Shot. Now what?

For whatever reason(s) in our lives, many of us have experienced times where it is obvious that our nervous system is stressed... maybe even pushed beyond the breaking point.

Nervous system "overload" can be from emotional factors that are creating physical (and subsequent emotional) effects, physical causes (trauma, neurochemical or electrolyte imbalance, toxins, dehydration, etc.), or from externally applied energy (microwaves, etc.), or combinations of those vectors. So, treatment should take into account all factors involved, which may be different for different people... or even different times in someone's life.

If someone is (for example) dehydrated, a physical cause for an acute condition, then meditation or hiking or getting away from WiFi isn't going to fix the problem. A checklist of "the obvious" (such as hydrating, or getting away from stressors) is a good idea. Bearing in mind the more obvious things we might do if our "nerves are shot", what are your own tried-and-tested-true remedies for chronic nervous system sub-optimal functioning? (a.k.a. "my nerves are shot")

Thanks in advance for whatever you're willing to share.

I hear you. I'm there too.
For me I turn the music on and sing.
I look at sewing patterns or think of projects I might do some day when things are better.
I don't spend time with the TV unless it's a good distracting movie.
I read a good book. Maybe even one I've read before that I know I'll enjoy.

Try to feed your soul, not challenge it. If your inward thinking is obsessive, move away from it.

These are all relief remedies. They give respite. They are not lasting solutions. Only time will really help.
And friends who have been there.

Blessings on you and those you love
Nancy

Hey Dennis,

Boy, speaking of nerves...

I was in new jersey this past weekend with my aunt, cousin and handicapped uncle. What a dysfunctional mess they are! Being around them for 3 days and 2 nights caused every cell in my body to pulse with a heightened anxiety. Plus, my aunt is an atrocious driver. She'd nearly get us killed every time we went out. It was unbelievable. She's one of these types who refuses to look in her rearview mirrow when changing lanes...she just kind of expects the world to adjust to all her movements (and then she screams at them!:facepalm:)

So basically I was stuck in this fight or flight gear all weekend. Its wednesday and im still decompressing...

How do I decompress? Beer!

I'm not being silly or flippant here. And im not suggesting you become an alcoholic. But the proper spirits in the right dose can be an absolute tonic. Truly.

For everyone its different...in both type and quantity. For me it changes with the seasons. Right now I drink 2 (yes, just 2...I swear;)) dos equis before bed and I have a nice, smooth uninterrupted sleep. And theres nothing better for the nerves than that..

I'm sure youre expecting someone to offer up an exotic herb as a solution:) (and they might...and it might be a good one) but id encourage you to not look past the obvious..

Ive probably taken more supplements than anyone here...and ive never taken any herb or vitamin or mineral (not even those magnesium powders) that can do what 1 or 2 bottles of high quality beer can. Seriously.

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) works for many people. Mercola.com has instructions on how to perform the techniques, they are quite easy.

Hello Dennis......As a 71 year old Grandmother with a life time of experiences I truly can address this. The body itself is affected at the DNA level by constant & unrelenting stress, such as I experienced in my first marriage. It wasn't discovered until 2009 that the telomeres become shortened. Long exposure to constant stress wears the body out way ahead of what is "normal"; to say nothing of also wearing out the heart muscle itself. Since I am living with such results myself, I can speak to this. Nothing can be done after the damage is already incurred, so one must figure out how to eliminate & control what stress one is exposed to. At this point, I simply have to live a quiet, peaceful life. One has to decide what is most important in one's life & scale down activities that are stressful, but not necessary to one's well being. It is important to take care of yourself, as no one else is going to!! I learned this lesson too late in life. Only you can figure out what is best for you; reevaluation of you entire lifestyle may be necessary. It varies with each person as to what is actually relaxing & healing for him or her. Nature itself does seem healing for all of us. You will be in my thoughts....wishing you well in your own personal journey!

I have been going through a very stressful time myself since my younger son was diagnosed with a mental illness and still going through it, he lives with me so it is always in my face. What I found myself doing first is a list of people that I can truly talk to and that will support me, you will be surprise how this list will be quite different from what you thought were true friends, than reconnect with your spiritual root, the one that you truly resonate with and offer your struggles to your higher power. Sometimes it take desperate situation to find that most of the time you really are not in control and you can only do your best.

If you have time to read... I would check this: "Adrenal Burnout"

... then help the body handle it: Foods and fasting: http://www.starcenter.com/Health-via...ard-Hay-MD.pdf (that's from a time period when "food" still deserved that name)

... finally and/or concomitantly, addressing the spiritual side of the dice: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ar...s-atlantis.pdf (<--- some good advices, exercises and explanations in there).

Dennis , every few months I need to recharge, for me its sleep, watch movies, have an ice cream float, sleep watch some more movies, pizza, sleep watch some more movies, hot shower sleep, basically I just shut myself down for 1-2 days and do absolutely nothing, stay in my jamies and force myself to just do nothing , I may cook some pot of large something stew or soup and while I'm cutting up everything to go into the pot I'll have a movie on and a bottle of wine opened and just go at an easy pace. Its tough because I'm on the go all the time and eat very healthy and yes I work an awful lot so when its recharge time I do the totally opposite and out of character for me. And yes it does work.

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Posted by pyrangello

Dennis , every few months I need to recharge, for me its sleep, watch movies, have an ice cream float, sleep watch some more movies, pizza, sleep watch some more movies, hot shower sleep, basically I just shut myself down for 1-2 days and do absolutely nothing, stay in my jamies and force myself to just do nothing , I may cook some pot of large something stew or soup and while I'm cutting up everything to go into the pot I'll have a movie on and a bottle of wine opened and just go at an easy pace. Its tough because I'm on the go all the time and eat very healthy and yes I work an awful lot so when its recharge time I do the totally opposite and out of character for me. And yes it does work.

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This is a wonderful suggestion.

I know its tough with family and work etc, but if you can just shut it down for a couple days, the results can be miraculous.

I'll do this sometimes too....just shut the curtains n blinds and lay in bed for a couple days. I come out of that feeling totally recharged.

I think that shot nerves are to some degree pretty good, because I find that it forces the being towards a more truthful state of being since it more directly expresses what it needs and what it does not need. Basically these situations are a call for some amount of change that needs to be made that can help counter/reverse this kind of situation in the future.

I think for me it depends on my overall health how I am dealing with it. A typical heavy period for me could be if I am on a very hard diet, switch to sugar rich energy and then rest. That will produce an incredible insulin spike. That I then focus into the muscles basically through heavy exercising. So although the "nerves" are very stressed out at that point, the energy of that stress I direct straight into the muscles. That followed by a cold shower can feel incredibly good.

When I am not in that kind of mood, in other words when I am relaxing my body in terms of energy turnover, and still feel stressed, then in most cases various relaxing activities helps. If I am hungry I might eat a good steak.

Coffee is sort of balancing these two moods in a healthy way. Beyond this I try to capture moments of having a good laugh together with others.

But then there might be moments when I am simply just pissed off and there is nothing anyone can do about that.

Hi Dennis one tip I will give you is a simple one.

Have good look at your Avatar, remember and feel the way you where looking in that photo :sun:

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Posted by Hervé

If you have time to read... I would check this: "Adrenal Burnout"

... then help the body handle it: Foods and fasting: http://www.starcenter.com/Health-via...ard-Hay-MD.pdf (that's from a time period when "food" still deserved that name)

... finally and/or concomitantly, addressing the spiritual side of the dice: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ar...s-atlantis.pdf (<--- some good advices, exercises and explanations in there).

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I totally agree with Herve! on the Foods and Fasting! and would like to go a bit further. I am currently detoxing my body following Dr. Hulda Clarke's the cure for all diseases. I have been doing the wormwood, black walnut hull, clove extract drops in water, and following her suggestions in removing toxic foods from my diet. In the first week I noticed a marked improvement in my mental focus and the ability to remain stress free has greatly increased. In her book she talks about the toxins in our foods and environment. The molds and fungus's that we cannot see in our foods can really affect us neurologically.

Other suggestions for relieving stress are: Hot epsom salt soaks and calming herbal teas!

Dennis, hormones are going crazy with men and women we re noticing. One thing that works for us is Min Tran. You can find it at www.standardprocess.com Min Tran when taken consistently makes you feel calm without being knocked out. It has minerals. We need to feed our brain minerals. The Thyroid goes wacko and it signals the brain. Stress and exhaustion wipes out the adrenal function. Best to go intuitive on your body and see what is needed for support. The rest of the world will continue with crazy. We need to just be in it, not of it.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/298996862738079660/

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Zl9puhwiyw

At my work I am known a bit as the "never stressed" guy -- I do have two supplements that I use to help me though ...

For whenever you need to just quickly take the "edge off" and get your mind back, I take 450mg of L-Theanine. Theanine is an amino acid found in tea, and it has the unique ability to encourage your brain towards an alpha brainwave state - which gives the physiological response of "relaxed wakefulness". It isn't a depressant or anything like that and it does not cause any drowsiness (but helps to calm the mind before sleep). It reduces background brain "chatter" and allows you to focus, especially helpful for learning (a great state for reading books).

L-Theanine takes about 30 minutes to kick in, and works for several hours before wearing off. The effect is subtle, but it works well for me. Theanine is also good for detox and for liver support.

The alpha brainwave state is what you go into with moderate to deep meditation. So by taking L-Theanine I guess it's a bit like cheating ;) A bit more info here: http://aor.ca/en/product/zen-theanine



For adrenal fatigue (long term stress complications), I take an extremely well formulated all round anti-stress formula (made by the company I work for) called Ortho Adapt. It's even won awards.

It contains:

Adrenal cortex (we also have a vegan formula without this)
Vitamin C
Pantothenic acid
Licorice extract
Siberian "ginseng"
Rhodiola
Ashwaghanda

More info and a bit of reading here http://aor.ca/en/product/ortho-adapt ... our site is still under construction so some info is not yet available on the new site.


And of course don't forget about this ... https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...editation-now-

:)

A many-pronged approach may be useful. The obvious ones for me are to avoid where possible nervous, uptight materially-minded persons and artificial stimulants / recreational drugs / alcohol. Stay outside in the fresh air as much as possible, such as in woodland, parks or the beach. Perhaps take up gardening as a hobby. Keep a good diet, avoid too much sugar and eat plenty of fruit. Adopt a zen approach to life - do your utmost best while not caring at the same time. Make time to do the things you really enjoy doing. If there is an issue past or present that is really bothering you then consider outside help from a qualified spiritual counselor perhaps.

I can personally vouch for any of Yogagnanda's teachings for the cure of nervous ailments, such as this one from East-West magazine, May 1927:

http://www.reversespins.com/vibratoryhealing.html

Love this quote:

"The police commissioner of Chicago declared recently in a bulletin that if the sounds of vehicles, etc., could be cut down, city people would live ten years longer. In other words, inharmonious noise affects the nervous system of people, weakening this medium through which vital energy is supplied to all the principal organs of the body, the circulatory system, brain, etc. With the deterioration of the nervous system, the energy and thermal supply of the blood becomes low, making it a fit home for bacteria of disease."

And the how-to-live series:

https://www.yogananda-srf.org/HowtoL...and_Worry.aspx

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Don’t wait for ‘it’ to build up. Preventive maintenance.

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Surprisingly simple techniques go a long way. Retrain yourself to breathe slow, deep inhale-exhales. And as silly as this sounds, smile. Not the Jim Carrey kind. A gentle, natural smile.

For myself, what worked six months ago no longer does. Knowing that freed me up. It’s about quality not quantity to whatever I do. I pay attention to what my body(ies) say. Nap? Take it. Sit without distraction for five minutes. Do it. Movie rather than study? Do it.

And body movement with focused intent is a double benefit. Remember the walk from Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan's Teachings in “Journey to Ixtlan”?

“You have to curl your fingers gently as you walk in order to keep your attention on the trail and the surroundings. Your ordinary way of walking is debilitating and you should never carry anything in your hands. If things have to be carried one should use a knapsack or any sort of carrying net or shoulder bag. By forcing the hands into a specific position one is capable of greater stamina and greater awareness.”

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psgjcclbml.jpg

♡

If my hands shake or I feel weak, I like to drink a juice or eat some fruit but will take anything to get the blood sugar up.

If my nerves are shot and I'm cranky, only music works - cranked!

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Posted by Sunny-side-up

Hi Dennis one tip I will give you is a simple one.

Have good look at your Avatar, remember and feel the way you where looking in that photo :sun:

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I so enjoy seeing Dennis smile and the beautiful energy through those eyes !!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes, when I am stressed, I will look at Dennis and Callistas' photos.............. not to discount the many beautiful people here...........

My sense of regression, and direction, make me jitter until I decide what. Should I speak in general? Or for Myself. Should we not care to follow dysfunction? Whatever the case may be we must listen true or suffer the consequences of our inaction. My direction is constant, but my action is under scrutiny, because my dark side is there at the edge, waiting to appear stronger at the available moment. My nerves are shot, by choice. My way out? Self-power. My release? Self-sacrifice. I frequently consume a healthy diet, deny drugs, poisons; or I do the opposite. If I would want a quick-fix solution, I would drink water, socialize in shallow(loving) ways, move a lot more, be simpler, entertain myself and others with topics that bring uplifting excitement or ease. The solution to stress is in the release, or attention of the observer. Words make the simple complicated. Today I didn't give a **** about some things I give too many ****s about, and it felt great. Giving a lot of ****s about something feels even better. I'm sure some stuff I wrote makes no sense, and if I can clarify my position on anything, ask.