Episode 114
How to Know If Your Symptoms Are Caused By Your Nervous System
Show notes
Are you "doing all the right things" — the medications, the supplements, the diets, the protocols — and still not getting better? What if your symptoms aren't caused by something structurally wrong in your body, but by a nervous system stuck in danger mode?
In this solo episode, Grace walks you through exactly what neuroplastic symptoms are, how they show up in real life, and shares an 8-point checklist so you can start to determine whether your symptoms might be nervous system–based. She covers conditions like chronic pain, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, POTS, IBS, long COVID, chronic dizziness, MCAS, and more — explaining why these very real symptoms can still be rooted in the brain and nervous system.
If your symptoms lack clear physical evidence, move around your body, haven't responded to conventional treatments, or you've got a history of being highly driven, perfectionistic, or hard on yourself — this episode is for you.
In this episode, you'll learn:
‣ What the nervous system actually is and how it creates real physical symptoms
‣ What makes neuroplastic symptoms different from structural problems
‣ The 8-point checklist to determine if your symptoms might be nervous system–based
‣ Why personality traits like perfectionism and people-pleasing are connected to chronic symptoms
‣ Why this is actually good news — and what you can do about it
If your symptoms are neuroplastic, recovery is 100% possible. Grace has seen it in her own life and in the lives of countless clients. Your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do — it just needs the right tools to learn that it's safe again.
Resource mentioned:
Episode 40: "When they can't find anything wrong!" with Dr. David Clarke
How to work with Grace:
- Practitioner Training-Mind Body Integtration Method Founding Cohort
- Mind-Body Healing Method Course – Regulate your nervous system now
- Free Masterclass: How to Know If Your Nervous System Is Behind Your Symptoms
- Work with us in private mind-body coaching
- Subscribe to my Substack for the deeper how-to's
Connect with Grace
Read the transcript
[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to the heal with grace podcast. I am your host Grace Secker a somatic
[00:00:07] Trauma therapist and nervous system coach, and I'm so glad you're here today
[00:00:10] We're diving into a topic that I actually just posted on Instagram about and it got a lot of
[00:00:17] Saves and likes and comments and questions because I mean it makes sense like it's the time old question
[00:00:25] Are my symptoms caused by my nervous system? I get messages like this all the time
[00:00:30] What about this symptom? What about that symptom?
[00:00:31] What about the inflammation that I show in my body after scan or the bulge disc or hernia discs that I have in my
[00:00:39] neck or my back or I mean the number and one tests you can do that show you something or
[00:00:46] the lack of findings that they have with something that you're experiencing and
[00:00:52] Everyone is like, well, what if it's this or what if it's that and
[00:00:56] Basically, I am here to answer the question of is it nervous system-based or not
[00:01:00] I'm going to give you a list a checklist where you can go down and ask yourself these questions
[00:01:05] And then also give you examples too. Let me just say this one thing before I became a therapist. I
[00:01:11] As you probably know by listening to this I dealt with so many different symptoms throughout my life
[00:01:16] Even as a therapist I dealt with so many symptoms so many physical symptoms and because of the medical model these days
[00:01:22] Most people think that physical symptoms are caused by some type of physical abnormality disease
[00:01:29] Something in the body now
[00:01:31] I'm not saying that what you're experiencing is not real. It is 100% real
[00:01:35] Well, you can actually see that there are something quote-on quote wrong
[00:01:39] Something going on in your body, but that doesn't always mean the treatment comes from a physical place
[00:01:47] Now physical in terms of brain or nervous system. Yeah
[00:01:51] But not in a traditional type of treatment modality that we often understand so
[00:01:56] In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through exactly what neuroplastic symptoms are
[00:02:01] What are nervous system-based symptoms and what they look like in real life and give you a checklist like an actual
[00:02:07] Checklist so you can determine if your symptoms might be caused by your nervous system by the way
[00:02:13] If they are
[00:02:15] It's really a good news because it means recovery is 100% possible. So let's dive in
[00:02:24] Hey there and welcome to heal with grace
[00:02:26] I'm your host Grace Secker and I'm a holistic licensed therapist and nervous system coach who believes that the chronic and often
[00:02:33] Unseen symptoms you're living with are a sign of something deeper going on a sign that your nervous system needs attention
[00:02:39] In each episode, I'll share the science behind the most common chronic health disorders
[00:02:44] Plastic holistic health tips using mental physical and spiritual practices
[00:02:49] You'll hear what I've learned in my journey and the true stories from our trusted guests
[00:02:53] So you can feel less alone in your experience and give yourself grace no matter what you're going through
[00:02:59] So without further ado settle in and get cozy. It's time to heal with grace
[00:03:05] Okay, let's get really clear about first and foremost. What do I mean by when I say the nervous system?
[00:03:13] There's so much out there about the nervous system these days. So I want to just have a clear explanation of
[00:03:20] What this is think of it this way
[00:03:21] I like to say that your nervous system is the information highway
[00:03:24] Your brain is a control center and your nervous system has messages sending going up and down the nervous system from your brain
[00:03:30] To your body every single second signals are traveling from your brain to the rest of your body and back and these signals
[00:03:38] control everything
[00:03:40] pain
[00:03:41] digestion
[00:03:42] inflammation
[00:03:43] hormones immune function heart rate literally everything and this is happening constantly
[00:03:50] Without you even thinking about it
[00:03:52] Your brain is receiving information
[00:03:55] Processing it and sending signals back down that highway to tell your body what to do
[00:04:00] Now here's the key that if your brain senses danger and this could be physical danger emotional danger
[00:04:07] spiritual danger
[00:04:08] mental danger anything or
[00:04:11] Even perceived danger from the past past trauma past situation past experiences
[00:04:18] It then sends protective signals down that highway
[00:04:21] Even if the perceived danger or threat is not present or is not real
[00:04:29] The signals are real and they create real physical symptoms pain T
[00:04:36] information digestive issues
[00:04:38] all of it
[00:04:39] The brain is trying to protect you. That's its job
[00:04:42] So when those protective signals stay on for too long the danger mode doesn't turn off
[00:04:48] Then your symptoms can become chronic and that's what we call
[00:04:52] Neuroplastic symptoms if you've been in this world for a while
[00:04:55] We used to call it TMS tension myocytus syndrome now. It's neuroplastic and that's the term we're using for nervous system derived
[00:05:03] disease symptoms illness all of the things so
[00:05:07] Neuroplastic symptoms are real
[00:05:10] They are really happening in your body physical symptoms, but they are caused by the brain staying stuck in danger mode and
[00:05:18] They are not just
[00:05:20] Quote on quote on your head and the way people sometimes mean they're not just anxiety
[00:05:26] They're very real, but the root cause isn't structural or disease
[00:05:30] It's a nervous system that's stuck in protective state. So this can happen even when testing comes back
[00:05:37] Normal actually this very much so happens when testing comes back normal, but this actually happens when testing doesn't so
[00:05:45] Because our bodies as humans we are not perfect
[00:05:49] So if you go turn over every stone
[00:05:52] You are going to find something wrong
[00:05:54] Again, because we're not perfect the human body is healing and changing all the time
[00:05:58] So there's going to be
[00:06:00] Adaptiveness there's going to be tests that show that you have low levels of X and high levels of Y and
[00:06:07] that you have a leaky gut and that you have
[00:06:11] Low motility and that you have abnormalities in your spine or that you have inflammation in your bladder or
[00:06:19] X Y and Z there you're going to find things because our bodies are not perfect
[00:06:23] It's completely normal and natural to have aging and things that are not perfect essentially so
[00:06:30] The thing is those issues those things and our bodies do not need to cause pain because they are normal parts of bodies and aging
[00:06:38] That's what I want you to understand. So let's get down to actually what do neuroplastic symptoms look like?
[00:06:44] Let me give some examples
[00:06:45] You've probably heard me talk about some of these but I want to really list out
[00:06:49] Multiple different ways that this shows up that maybe you've heard some of these things been told to you
[00:06:54] So maybe you have chronic headaches
[00:06:56] Maybe they're migraines if you've been given the label of fibromyalgia, which comes with so many different things, right?
[00:07:02] Essentially, that's just like pains all over your body CRPS ME CFS chronic fatigue syndrome
[00:07:08] long COVID
[00:07:10] Lyme
[00:07:11] Puts chronic dizziness MCAS mass selectivation syndrome
[00:07:17] IBS and any kind of digestive issues or gut issues
[00:07:21] back pain neck pain shoulder pain
[00:07:24] pain that is caused
[00:07:27] By hypermobility, you don't have to have pain if you're hypermobile vertigo pelvic pain
[00:07:33] interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder
[00:07:37] brain fog and
[00:07:39] Any chronic symptoms that have lasted longer than six months and that don't have any
[00:07:45] Structural findings these are very real conditions, but they are derived from the brain in the nervous system and
[00:07:51] What I'm saying is that in many cases most of these cases the root cause is the nervous system being stuck in danger mode rather than
[00:07:58] structural damage or disease and
[00:08:01] Here's what makes neuroplastic symptoms different
[00:08:05] First they often lack clear physical evidence like you get an MRI blood work
[00:08:11] Imaging and everything comes back normal or maybe there's something that shows up like a bulge disc or some information
[00:08:17] But it doesn't fully explain the severity of your symptoms
[00:08:21] Second neuroplastic symptoms are inconsistent
[00:08:24] They move around the body they come and go at odd times
[00:08:28] They're triggered by random things smells sounds weather stress certain foods
[00:08:35] One day you can do something the next day you can't
[00:08:38] That inconsistency is actually a hallmark sign of a neuroplastic symptom
[00:08:43] So I have people come to me often and say well, I had this flare
[00:08:46] I had I had these symptoms for like two years when I was 19 and
[00:08:51] Then they just went away
[00:08:53] But now for the past year or two it's back and it's worse or have once I asked people about their history and
[00:09:00] I asked them have you ever had any other types of health issues or any other symptoms that were kind of weird or any
[00:09:06] Other diagnoses and most of the time not everyone but most of the time people could be like oh, yeah
[00:09:10] I mean well, I had this or like as a teenager was always this or like maybe he's always sick here or whatever right like yeah
[00:09:17] Yeah, kind of that symptomology moving around all the time
[00:09:20] That's your nervous system because if it were it was a true structural cause
[00:09:25] Then it wouldn't move around
[00:09:27] right, so if you have
[00:09:31] Cancer if you have a tumor that tumor doesn't move around your body
[00:09:34] If you have a broken bone that broken bone doesn't change. It's broken and it hurts for a certain period of time and then it heals
[00:09:42] Right the inconsistency is huge
[00:09:45] It also doesn't matter about weather. I correct this all the time
[00:09:48] Oh, it's getting cold so my joints just hurt and like I just have pain because it's cold weather
[00:09:52] There's absolutely no research to support that weather causes pain
[00:09:56] They go down a whole list of demystifying things that people say about the physical body
[00:10:01] Again, I'm not saying your pain's not real
[00:10:03] It's just that we hear these things and then we use our brain uses those to explain
[00:10:08] Why we might have symptoms to grab on to them thirdly
[00:10:11] Conventional treatments have failed to provide relief if you've tried medications physical therapy
[00:10:17] surgery maybe supplements diet changes and maybe it's worked for a little bit but not long-term or
[00:10:23] Things work for you know a while and then they're back. That's
[00:10:28] Means it's probably more neuroplastic
[00:10:31] treatments should
[00:10:32] effectively treat if
[00:10:35] Any of this is resonating with you
[00:10:37] I want you to keep listening because we're gonna go into the more detailed checklist. Okay, so this is the part where we really dig in
[00:10:44] I'm going to walk you through the checklist of signs that suggest your symptoms might be neuroplastic and this checklist
[00:10:50] Comes from the symptomatic dot me website, which is an incredible resource if you want to learn more about neuroplastic symptoms
[00:10:56] So grab a pen if you want to take notes save and bookmark this episode. You can come back to it
[00:11:02] Whatever works for you number one
[00:11:04] Your symptoms lack clear physical evidence if doctors run tests things come back normal or at least the findings don't fully explain
[00:11:12] What you're experiencing you might have some inflammation or a bulge disc
[00:11:15] But it doesn't match the level of pain or dysfunction you're dealing with
[00:11:20] This is one clear marker that it's neuroplastic. It's nervous system-based number two
[00:11:26] Your symptoms are inconsistent. They move around the body. They come and go at odd times
[00:11:31] They're triggered by random stimuli like smells sounds seasons or the weather
[00:11:36] Like I mentioned above. This is neuroplastic
[00:11:39] It doesn't follow the rules of structural problems
[00:11:43] Neuroplastic pain can be there one day and not the next or it can be in your hip one day and your net or your neck the next
[00:11:49] And if you're someone listening being like my symptom is there 24-7 you're listening to this for a reason
[00:11:56] There's a neuroplastic base symptom there
[00:11:58] It can feel like it's happening all the time and that's okay too number three is
[00:12:03] Conventional treatments have failed to provide relief if you're listening to this you have probably tried everything
[00:12:09] medications physical therapy injections protocols surgery functional medicine diets
[00:12:16] Cold plunging sauna
[00:12:19] detoxes all of the things and
[00:12:22] Maybe they temporarily helped and maybe they've become support systems for you and that's fantastic. That's fine
[00:12:29] But if it's not actually helping you long term
[00:12:33] That's an indicator that you have a neuroplastic symptom now. I want to say something about this here
[00:12:37] I mean you've heard me say this I'm a supporter of things that help you I myself have a red light mask at home
[00:12:44] I love my sauna. I'll cold plunge when it's there like I
[00:12:48] actually like those things
[00:12:50] But they're not actually what's helped me heal and get to the recovered place that I'm in
[00:12:54] They don't they're just supplemental
[00:12:57] Okay, and then all the other things like I've done so many things so many treatments and still I have learned so much from all
[00:13:03] Of them, but they have not actually gotten to the root cause of my symptoms
[00:13:07] Okay, and number four is that you have multiple physical
[00:13:12] Unrelated symptoms or a history of multiple chronic symptoms
[00:13:15] This is like what I was mentioning above if you're not just dealing with one thing or you've had multiple things in
[00:13:20] The past back pain digestive issues headaches fatigue that pattern of multiple symptoms is classic for nervous system
[00:13:28] Disregulation and it doesn't have to you don't have to have all the things
[00:13:32] You might just have one specific symptom one syndrome many people do that's
[00:13:38] That's still neuroplastic right if it still fits this criteria number five you have
[00:13:44] Personality traits that include being highly driven
[00:13:47] hard on yourself
[00:13:50] ultra responsible perfectionistic
[00:13:53] Needing to feel in control
[00:13:56] Maybe you place others needs above your own
[00:14:00] Things like that you have more anxiety. I know this sounds a little odd like when I first learned about this one
[00:14:05] I was like, well, that's fascinating. There can be personality characteristics
[00:14:10] that are
[00:14:13] associated with
[00:14:15] physical symptoms in the body
[00:14:17] But then when I started learning about it and I went down the list I was like, oh, that's me
[00:14:21] I was like called out like so called out and also now just makes so much sense after you get into this work
[00:14:28] and you understand it more and
[00:14:30] This ends up hitting home for a lot of people when people come to me and they've already kind of learned about this
[00:14:36] They're just looking for help with it. They'll already say like, yeah, I'm highly anxious
[00:14:41] I've got that perfectionistic tendency like I'm a pupil pleaser and this is not about blaming yourself at all
[00:14:46] You're not causing your symptoms. You're not doing anything wrong
[00:14:50] It's just about recognizing that these traits can create chronic stress in your nervous system and
[00:14:57] When you're constantly in go mode
[00:15:00] Constantly trying to be perfect constantly putting yourself last
[00:15:03] Your nervous system never gets a break and it puts a lot of pressure on yourself
[00:15:06] Number six is your life has been marked by high levels of job family relationship or social stress
[00:15:14] This is such this is such an umbrella, right? Because what is stress now?
[00:15:19] You can listen to my other episodes on what is trauma and what is actually considered high stress for your nervous system and essentially
[00:15:26] It is something that your nervous system deems as too much
[00:15:31] At once or too much over time or too much too fast too soon
[00:15:36] chronic stress is
[00:15:38] One of the biggest contributors to nervous system dysregulation
[00:15:43] And this can be current stress or past stress that your nervous system is still holding on to chronic stress
[00:15:48] Like we hear that right like oh, that's stress isn't good for your body
[00:15:52] It truly is the cause of our
[00:15:55] Bodies syndromes and symptoms and illnesses and pains
[00:15:58] So this work is about unraveling that getting you out of that and learning to teach your body that it doesn't have to
[00:16:04] Be stressed anymore. That was not a part of this. I'm telling you how to treat and we're going down the list
[00:16:09] But you get what I mean
[00:16:12] Okay, number seven is
[00:16:14] If you learned that a child was experiencing what you did as a child, would you feel sad or angry or upset?
[00:16:22] So I want you to ask yourself this question
[00:16:26] Dr. David Clark talks about this and actually he was on my my podcast a while back and we'll link the episode below
[00:16:34] and he
[00:16:35] Says I really like to ask people when I when I ask them about stress
[00:16:39] Like what is the stressful in your life? Do you have any trauma in your life? And a lot of times people are like, I don't know
[00:16:44] I had a fine childhood or no, I don't have any trauma
[00:16:48] The question that you turn back on them is if someone was describing
[00:16:53] What you experienced as a child or what you're experiencing now or what you're you have experienced in a high stress time in your life
[00:17:00] How would you respond to that? How would you feel about it?
[00:17:02] What would you say to them? Oftentimes people don't realize what they went through was stressful was hard was difficult was trauma
[00:17:09] Because when we go through it, we're not thinking about it. We're just in it
[00:17:14] and
[00:17:15] So trauma doesn't have to be big T capital T trauma, which actually I don't even like those terms be big T
[00:17:21] And little T. We don't even need those anymore. We're just talking about trauma. We're just talking about
[00:17:27] Nervous system that was pushed past capacity
[00:17:30] It can be emotional glut. It can really be like you had to feel like you had you needed to be perfect or not able
[00:17:37] not feeling safe enough to express your emotions or
[00:17:40] parents who were stressed or emotionally unavailable or
[00:17:44] Physically unavailable if you look back and you think wow that must have been hard for a little me
[00:17:50] That is significant
[00:17:53] That's nervous system dysregulation or that causes nervous system dysregulation
[00:17:59] Number eight is that you have experienced trauma or a terrifying or horrifying event again. It doesn't have to be some huge event, but
[00:18:08] If you have experienced it
[00:18:09] You have a high likelihood that you have neuroplastic symptoms
[00:18:13] Because your nervous system is trying to protect you from the feelings about that event
[00:18:17] So how many of those resonated with you if you checked off even just one or two?
[00:18:23] There's a very good chance that your symptoms are neuroplastic and
[00:18:27] Listen, I know it can be overwhelming and you might be thinking wait, so you're saying my pain is coming from my brain
[00:18:33] Does that mean it's not real?
[00:18:35] Again, no, your pain is very real. It is very very real
[00:18:40] The this is good news like truly this is good news because if your symptoms are neuroplastic
[00:18:46] That means that they can be treated by changing your brain and nervous system response
[00:18:50] We have so much evidence now. Just go listen to the success stories and the healing stories
[00:18:55] I have on here and then on so many other people's channels and podcasts
[00:19:00] People are recovering people are healing and it's completely possible. I
[00:19:05] Have seen this over and over and I've seen this in my life and the lives of so many other people in my community
[00:19:11] When you learn how to regulate your nervous system when you teach your brain that it's safe when you rewire those protective signals
[00:19:18] Symptoms can improve dramatically
[00:19:21] Sometimes they go away completely. This is literally why I started this podcast is just to teach you that this is possible
[00:19:28] To help people understand
[00:19:30] Right to help people understand they don't have to be sick and in pain forever
[00:19:34] So first and foremost if you're listening to this and you're like ooh someone else and my life needs to hear this
[00:19:39] Please share it with them
[00:19:40] Again, this is the whole point of the podcast. Let's share the information. Let's get it out there
[00:19:44] and then secondly
[00:19:47] If you're like, oh, yeah, this is me. Okay, like I definitely want to help want help with this
[00:19:54] That's exactly what I teach in the mind-body healing method course and
[00:19:58] Right now. It's the self-paced program where I teach you how to rewire your brain
[00:20:04] how to regulate your nervous system and
[00:20:06] How to understand and express your emotions so that your nervous system doesn't have to be a high alert
[00:20:14] We address it all nervous system somatic practices brain retraining and trauma and
[00:20:20] The beautiful thing is you don't have to do it alone if you don't want to
[00:20:25] Even though this is self-paced you can add on as needed private sessions with me or Liana
[00:20:31] My mind-body healing method coach and you can get that personalized support
[00:20:36] Let me recap the key takeaways from today one. Your brain is the control center
[00:20:41] Your nervous system is the information highway
[00:20:43] And when your brain senses danger it sends protective signals that create real physical symptoms to
[00:20:53] Neuroplastic symptoms lack clear physical evidence
[00:20:56] They are inconsistent
[00:20:58] They don't respond to a conventional treatment and they often involve multiple unrelated symptoms
[00:21:04] Three if you checked off more than one above your symptoms might be neuroplastic
[00:21:09] And if they are it's good news because it means they can be addressed through nervous system work
[00:21:15] And last but not least recovery is possible. I've done it my clients have done it
[00:21:20] And you can too and I would really love to support you in that if it feels right
[00:21:25] so if you're resonating with what we've talked about today and
[00:21:28] You want to learn more and you really want to be guided through it in a step-by-step process
[00:21:33] I'd love to invite you to check out the mind-body healing method course linked below
[00:21:38] You can find the link in the show notes to start your healing today
[00:21:42] Thank you very much for being here. Thank you for trusting me with your time and
[00:21:46] Remember that healing is possible. Your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do
[00:21:51] We just need the right tools to teach it that it's safe again
[00:21:54] I'll see you in the next episode keep healing with grace
[00:21:58] If this podcast means something to you
[00:22:00] It would mean so much to me if you could do these couple things
[00:22:03] One go to the heal with grace show page wherever you listen and tap the plus sign or click on the follow button
[00:22:09] So you don't miss an episode it helps both of us out
[00:22:12] While you're there if you could give a five-star review so that this podcast can reach more people
[00:22:18] It would mean so much to me so I can continue sharing episodes that help you as well as others
[00:22:24] Thanks for listening and I hope this brings you hope on your journey
[00:00:07] Trauma therapist and nervous system coach, and I'm so glad you're here today
[00:00:10] We're diving into a topic that I actually just posted on Instagram about and it got a lot of
[00:00:17] Saves and likes and comments and questions because I mean it makes sense like it's the time old question
[00:00:25] Are my symptoms caused by my nervous system? I get messages like this all the time
[00:00:30] What about this symptom? What about that symptom?
[00:00:31] What about the inflammation that I show in my body after scan or the bulge disc or hernia discs that I have in my
[00:00:39] neck or my back or I mean the number and one tests you can do that show you something or
[00:00:46] the lack of findings that they have with something that you're experiencing and
[00:00:52] Everyone is like, well, what if it's this or what if it's that and
[00:00:56] Basically, I am here to answer the question of is it nervous system-based or not
[00:01:00] I'm going to give you a list a checklist where you can go down and ask yourself these questions
[00:01:05] And then also give you examples too. Let me just say this one thing before I became a therapist. I
[00:01:11] As you probably know by listening to this I dealt with so many different symptoms throughout my life
[00:01:16] Even as a therapist I dealt with so many symptoms so many physical symptoms and because of the medical model these days
[00:01:22] Most people think that physical symptoms are caused by some type of physical abnormality disease
[00:01:29] Something in the body now
[00:01:31] I'm not saying that what you're experiencing is not real. It is 100% real
[00:01:35] Well, you can actually see that there are something quote-on quote wrong
[00:01:39] Something going on in your body, but that doesn't always mean the treatment comes from a physical place
[00:01:47] Now physical in terms of brain or nervous system. Yeah
[00:01:51] But not in a traditional type of treatment modality that we often understand so
[00:01:56] In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through exactly what neuroplastic symptoms are
[00:02:01] What are nervous system-based symptoms and what they look like in real life and give you a checklist like an actual
[00:02:07] Checklist so you can determine if your symptoms might be caused by your nervous system by the way
[00:02:13] If they are
[00:02:15] It's really a good news because it means recovery is 100% possible. So let's dive in
[00:02:24] Hey there and welcome to heal with grace
[00:02:26] I'm your host Grace Secker and I'm a holistic licensed therapist and nervous system coach who believes that the chronic and often
[00:02:33] Unseen symptoms you're living with are a sign of something deeper going on a sign that your nervous system needs attention
[00:02:39] In each episode, I'll share the science behind the most common chronic health disorders
[00:02:44] Plastic holistic health tips using mental physical and spiritual practices
[00:02:49] You'll hear what I've learned in my journey and the true stories from our trusted guests
[00:02:53] So you can feel less alone in your experience and give yourself grace no matter what you're going through
[00:02:59] So without further ado settle in and get cozy. It's time to heal with grace
[00:03:05] Okay, let's get really clear about first and foremost. What do I mean by when I say the nervous system?
[00:03:13] There's so much out there about the nervous system these days. So I want to just have a clear explanation of
[00:03:20] What this is think of it this way
[00:03:21] I like to say that your nervous system is the information highway
[00:03:24] Your brain is a control center and your nervous system has messages sending going up and down the nervous system from your brain
[00:03:30] To your body every single second signals are traveling from your brain to the rest of your body and back and these signals
[00:03:38] control everything
[00:03:40] pain
[00:03:41] digestion
[00:03:42] inflammation
[00:03:43] hormones immune function heart rate literally everything and this is happening constantly
[00:03:50] Without you even thinking about it
[00:03:52] Your brain is receiving information
[00:03:55] Processing it and sending signals back down that highway to tell your body what to do
[00:04:00] Now here's the key that if your brain senses danger and this could be physical danger emotional danger
[00:04:07] spiritual danger
[00:04:08] mental danger anything or
[00:04:11] Even perceived danger from the past past trauma past situation past experiences
[00:04:18] It then sends protective signals down that highway
[00:04:21] Even if the perceived danger or threat is not present or is not real
[00:04:29] The signals are real and they create real physical symptoms pain T
[00:04:36] information digestive issues
[00:04:38] all of it
[00:04:39] The brain is trying to protect you. That's its job
[00:04:42] So when those protective signals stay on for too long the danger mode doesn't turn off
[00:04:48] Then your symptoms can become chronic and that's what we call
[00:04:52] Neuroplastic symptoms if you've been in this world for a while
[00:04:55] We used to call it TMS tension myocytus syndrome now. It's neuroplastic and that's the term we're using for nervous system derived
[00:05:03] disease symptoms illness all of the things so
[00:05:07] Neuroplastic symptoms are real
[00:05:10] They are really happening in your body physical symptoms, but they are caused by the brain staying stuck in danger mode and
[00:05:18] They are not just
[00:05:20] Quote on quote on your head and the way people sometimes mean they're not just anxiety
[00:05:26] They're very real, but the root cause isn't structural or disease
[00:05:30] It's a nervous system that's stuck in protective state. So this can happen even when testing comes back
[00:05:37] Normal actually this very much so happens when testing comes back normal, but this actually happens when testing doesn't so
[00:05:45] Because our bodies as humans we are not perfect
[00:05:49] So if you go turn over every stone
[00:05:52] You are going to find something wrong
[00:05:54] Again, because we're not perfect the human body is healing and changing all the time
[00:05:58] So there's going to be
[00:06:00] Adaptiveness there's going to be tests that show that you have low levels of X and high levels of Y and
[00:06:07] that you have a leaky gut and that you have
[00:06:11] Low motility and that you have abnormalities in your spine or that you have inflammation in your bladder or
[00:06:19] X Y and Z there you're going to find things because our bodies are not perfect
[00:06:23] It's completely normal and natural to have aging and things that are not perfect essentially so
[00:06:30] The thing is those issues those things and our bodies do not need to cause pain because they are normal parts of bodies and aging
[00:06:38] That's what I want you to understand. So let's get down to actually what do neuroplastic symptoms look like?
[00:06:44] Let me give some examples
[00:06:45] You've probably heard me talk about some of these but I want to really list out
[00:06:49] Multiple different ways that this shows up that maybe you've heard some of these things been told to you
[00:06:54] So maybe you have chronic headaches
[00:06:56] Maybe they're migraines if you've been given the label of fibromyalgia, which comes with so many different things, right?
[00:07:02] Essentially, that's just like pains all over your body CRPS ME CFS chronic fatigue syndrome
[00:07:08] long COVID
[00:07:10] Lyme
[00:07:11] Puts chronic dizziness MCAS mass selectivation syndrome
[00:07:17] IBS and any kind of digestive issues or gut issues
[00:07:21] back pain neck pain shoulder pain
[00:07:24] pain that is caused
[00:07:27] By hypermobility, you don't have to have pain if you're hypermobile vertigo pelvic pain
[00:07:33] interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder
[00:07:37] brain fog and
[00:07:39] Any chronic symptoms that have lasted longer than six months and that don't have any
[00:07:45] Structural findings these are very real conditions, but they are derived from the brain in the nervous system and
[00:07:51] What I'm saying is that in many cases most of these cases the root cause is the nervous system being stuck in danger mode rather than
[00:07:58] structural damage or disease and
[00:08:01] Here's what makes neuroplastic symptoms different
[00:08:05] First they often lack clear physical evidence like you get an MRI blood work
[00:08:11] Imaging and everything comes back normal or maybe there's something that shows up like a bulge disc or some information
[00:08:17] But it doesn't fully explain the severity of your symptoms
[00:08:21] Second neuroplastic symptoms are inconsistent
[00:08:24] They move around the body they come and go at odd times
[00:08:28] They're triggered by random things smells sounds weather stress certain foods
[00:08:35] One day you can do something the next day you can't
[00:08:38] That inconsistency is actually a hallmark sign of a neuroplastic symptom
[00:08:43] So I have people come to me often and say well, I had this flare
[00:08:46] I had I had these symptoms for like two years when I was 19 and
[00:08:51] Then they just went away
[00:08:53] But now for the past year or two it's back and it's worse or have once I asked people about their history and
[00:09:00] I asked them have you ever had any other types of health issues or any other symptoms that were kind of weird or any
[00:09:06] Other diagnoses and most of the time not everyone but most of the time people could be like oh, yeah
[00:09:10] I mean well, I had this or like as a teenager was always this or like maybe he's always sick here or whatever right like yeah
[00:09:17] Yeah, kind of that symptomology moving around all the time
[00:09:20] That's your nervous system because if it were it was a true structural cause
[00:09:25] Then it wouldn't move around
[00:09:27] right, so if you have
[00:09:31] Cancer if you have a tumor that tumor doesn't move around your body
[00:09:34] If you have a broken bone that broken bone doesn't change. It's broken and it hurts for a certain period of time and then it heals
[00:09:42] Right the inconsistency is huge
[00:09:45] It also doesn't matter about weather. I correct this all the time
[00:09:48] Oh, it's getting cold so my joints just hurt and like I just have pain because it's cold weather
[00:09:52] There's absolutely no research to support that weather causes pain
[00:09:56] They go down a whole list of demystifying things that people say about the physical body
[00:10:01] Again, I'm not saying your pain's not real
[00:10:03] It's just that we hear these things and then we use our brain uses those to explain
[00:10:08] Why we might have symptoms to grab on to them thirdly
[00:10:11] Conventional treatments have failed to provide relief if you've tried medications physical therapy
[00:10:17] surgery maybe supplements diet changes and maybe it's worked for a little bit but not long-term or
[00:10:23] Things work for you know a while and then they're back. That's
[00:10:28] Means it's probably more neuroplastic
[00:10:31] treatments should
[00:10:32] effectively treat if
[00:10:35] Any of this is resonating with you
[00:10:37] I want you to keep listening because we're gonna go into the more detailed checklist. Okay, so this is the part where we really dig in
[00:10:44] I'm going to walk you through the checklist of signs that suggest your symptoms might be neuroplastic and this checklist
[00:10:50] Comes from the symptomatic dot me website, which is an incredible resource if you want to learn more about neuroplastic symptoms
[00:10:56] So grab a pen if you want to take notes save and bookmark this episode. You can come back to it
[00:11:02] Whatever works for you number one
[00:11:04] Your symptoms lack clear physical evidence if doctors run tests things come back normal or at least the findings don't fully explain
[00:11:12] What you're experiencing you might have some inflammation or a bulge disc
[00:11:15] But it doesn't match the level of pain or dysfunction you're dealing with
[00:11:20] This is one clear marker that it's neuroplastic. It's nervous system-based number two
[00:11:26] Your symptoms are inconsistent. They move around the body. They come and go at odd times
[00:11:31] They're triggered by random stimuli like smells sounds seasons or the weather
[00:11:36] Like I mentioned above. This is neuroplastic
[00:11:39] It doesn't follow the rules of structural problems
[00:11:43] Neuroplastic pain can be there one day and not the next or it can be in your hip one day and your net or your neck the next
[00:11:49] And if you're someone listening being like my symptom is there 24-7 you're listening to this for a reason
[00:11:56] There's a neuroplastic base symptom there
[00:11:58] It can feel like it's happening all the time and that's okay too number three is
[00:12:03] Conventional treatments have failed to provide relief if you're listening to this you have probably tried everything
[00:12:09] medications physical therapy injections protocols surgery functional medicine diets
[00:12:16] Cold plunging sauna
[00:12:19] detoxes all of the things and
[00:12:22] Maybe they temporarily helped and maybe they've become support systems for you and that's fantastic. That's fine
[00:12:29] But if it's not actually helping you long term
[00:12:33] That's an indicator that you have a neuroplastic symptom now. I want to say something about this here
[00:12:37] I mean you've heard me say this I'm a supporter of things that help you I myself have a red light mask at home
[00:12:44] I love my sauna. I'll cold plunge when it's there like I
[00:12:48] actually like those things
[00:12:50] But they're not actually what's helped me heal and get to the recovered place that I'm in
[00:12:54] They don't they're just supplemental
[00:12:57] Okay, and then all the other things like I've done so many things so many treatments and still I have learned so much from all
[00:13:03] Of them, but they have not actually gotten to the root cause of my symptoms
[00:13:07] Okay, and number four is that you have multiple physical
[00:13:12] Unrelated symptoms or a history of multiple chronic symptoms
[00:13:15] This is like what I was mentioning above if you're not just dealing with one thing or you've had multiple things in
[00:13:20] The past back pain digestive issues headaches fatigue that pattern of multiple symptoms is classic for nervous system
[00:13:28] Disregulation and it doesn't have to you don't have to have all the things
[00:13:32] You might just have one specific symptom one syndrome many people do that's
[00:13:38] That's still neuroplastic right if it still fits this criteria number five you have
[00:13:44] Personality traits that include being highly driven
[00:13:47] hard on yourself
[00:13:50] ultra responsible perfectionistic
[00:13:53] Needing to feel in control
[00:13:56] Maybe you place others needs above your own
[00:14:00] Things like that you have more anxiety. I know this sounds a little odd like when I first learned about this one
[00:14:05] I was like, well, that's fascinating. There can be personality characteristics
[00:14:10] that are
[00:14:13] associated with
[00:14:15] physical symptoms in the body
[00:14:17] But then when I started learning about it and I went down the list I was like, oh, that's me
[00:14:21] I was like called out like so called out and also now just makes so much sense after you get into this work
[00:14:28] and you understand it more and
[00:14:30] This ends up hitting home for a lot of people when people come to me and they've already kind of learned about this
[00:14:36] They're just looking for help with it. They'll already say like, yeah, I'm highly anxious
[00:14:41] I've got that perfectionistic tendency like I'm a pupil pleaser and this is not about blaming yourself at all
[00:14:46] You're not causing your symptoms. You're not doing anything wrong
[00:14:50] It's just about recognizing that these traits can create chronic stress in your nervous system and
[00:14:57] When you're constantly in go mode
[00:15:00] Constantly trying to be perfect constantly putting yourself last
[00:15:03] Your nervous system never gets a break and it puts a lot of pressure on yourself
[00:15:06] Number six is your life has been marked by high levels of job family relationship or social stress
[00:15:14] This is such this is such an umbrella, right? Because what is stress now?
[00:15:19] You can listen to my other episodes on what is trauma and what is actually considered high stress for your nervous system and essentially
[00:15:26] It is something that your nervous system deems as too much
[00:15:31] At once or too much over time or too much too fast too soon
[00:15:36] chronic stress is
[00:15:38] One of the biggest contributors to nervous system dysregulation
[00:15:43] And this can be current stress or past stress that your nervous system is still holding on to chronic stress
[00:15:48] Like we hear that right like oh, that's stress isn't good for your body
[00:15:52] It truly is the cause of our
[00:15:55] Bodies syndromes and symptoms and illnesses and pains
[00:15:58] So this work is about unraveling that getting you out of that and learning to teach your body that it doesn't have to
[00:16:04] Be stressed anymore. That was not a part of this. I'm telling you how to treat and we're going down the list
[00:16:09] But you get what I mean
[00:16:12] Okay, number seven is
[00:16:14] If you learned that a child was experiencing what you did as a child, would you feel sad or angry or upset?
[00:16:22] So I want you to ask yourself this question
[00:16:26] Dr. David Clark talks about this and actually he was on my my podcast a while back and we'll link the episode below
[00:16:34] and he
[00:16:35] Says I really like to ask people when I when I ask them about stress
[00:16:39] Like what is the stressful in your life? Do you have any trauma in your life? And a lot of times people are like, I don't know
[00:16:44] I had a fine childhood or no, I don't have any trauma
[00:16:48] The question that you turn back on them is if someone was describing
[00:16:53] What you experienced as a child or what you're experiencing now or what you're you have experienced in a high stress time in your life
[00:17:00] How would you respond to that? How would you feel about it?
[00:17:02] What would you say to them? Oftentimes people don't realize what they went through was stressful was hard was difficult was trauma
[00:17:09] Because when we go through it, we're not thinking about it. We're just in it
[00:17:14] and
[00:17:15] So trauma doesn't have to be big T capital T trauma, which actually I don't even like those terms be big T
[00:17:21] And little T. We don't even need those anymore. We're just talking about trauma. We're just talking about
[00:17:27] Nervous system that was pushed past capacity
[00:17:30] It can be emotional glut. It can really be like you had to feel like you had you needed to be perfect or not able
[00:17:37] not feeling safe enough to express your emotions or
[00:17:40] parents who were stressed or emotionally unavailable or
[00:17:44] Physically unavailable if you look back and you think wow that must have been hard for a little me
[00:17:50] That is significant
[00:17:53] That's nervous system dysregulation or that causes nervous system dysregulation
[00:17:59] Number eight is that you have experienced trauma or a terrifying or horrifying event again. It doesn't have to be some huge event, but
[00:18:08] If you have experienced it
[00:18:09] You have a high likelihood that you have neuroplastic symptoms
[00:18:13] Because your nervous system is trying to protect you from the feelings about that event
[00:18:17] So how many of those resonated with you if you checked off even just one or two?
[00:18:23] There's a very good chance that your symptoms are neuroplastic and
[00:18:27] Listen, I know it can be overwhelming and you might be thinking wait, so you're saying my pain is coming from my brain
[00:18:33] Does that mean it's not real?
[00:18:35] Again, no, your pain is very real. It is very very real
[00:18:40] The this is good news like truly this is good news because if your symptoms are neuroplastic
[00:18:46] That means that they can be treated by changing your brain and nervous system response
[00:18:50] We have so much evidence now. Just go listen to the success stories and the healing stories
[00:18:55] I have on here and then on so many other people's channels and podcasts
[00:19:00] People are recovering people are healing and it's completely possible. I
[00:19:05] Have seen this over and over and I've seen this in my life and the lives of so many other people in my community
[00:19:11] When you learn how to regulate your nervous system when you teach your brain that it's safe when you rewire those protective signals
[00:19:18] Symptoms can improve dramatically
[00:19:21] Sometimes they go away completely. This is literally why I started this podcast is just to teach you that this is possible
[00:19:28] To help people understand
[00:19:30] Right to help people understand they don't have to be sick and in pain forever
[00:19:34] So first and foremost if you're listening to this and you're like ooh someone else and my life needs to hear this
[00:19:39] Please share it with them
[00:19:40] Again, this is the whole point of the podcast. Let's share the information. Let's get it out there
[00:19:44] and then secondly
[00:19:47] If you're like, oh, yeah, this is me. Okay, like I definitely want to help want help with this
[00:19:54] That's exactly what I teach in the mind-body healing method course and
[00:19:58] Right now. It's the self-paced program where I teach you how to rewire your brain
[00:20:04] how to regulate your nervous system and
[00:20:06] How to understand and express your emotions so that your nervous system doesn't have to be a high alert
[00:20:14] We address it all nervous system somatic practices brain retraining and trauma and
[00:20:20] The beautiful thing is you don't have to do it alone if you don't want to
[00:20:25] Even though this is self-paced you can add on as needed private sessions with me or Liana
[00:20:31] My mind-body healing method coach and you can get that personalized support
[00:20:36] Let me recap the key takeaways from today one. Your brain is the control center
[00:20:41] Your nervous system is the information highway
[00:20:43] And when your brain senses danger it sends protective signals that create real physical symptoms to
[00:20:53] Neuroplastic symptoms lack clear physical evidence
[00:20:56] They are inconsistent
[00:20:58] They don't respond to a conventional treatment and they often involve multiple unrelated symptoms
[00:21:04] Three if you checked off more than one above your symptoms might be neuroplastic
[00:21:09] And if they are it's good news because it means they can be addressed through nervous system work
[00:21:15] And last but not least recovery is possible. I've done it my clients have done it
[00:21:20] And you can too and I would really love to support you in that if it feels right
[00:21:25] so if you're resonating with what we've talked about today and
[00:21:28] You want to learn more and you really want to be guided through it in a step-by-step process
[00:21:33] I'd love to invite you to check out the mind-body healing method course linked below
[00:21:38] You can find the link in the show notes to start your healing today
[00:21:42] Thank you very much for being here. Thank you for trusting me with your time and
[00:21:46] Remember that healing is possible. Your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do
[00:21:51] We just need the right tools to teach it that it's safe again
[00:21:54] I'll see you in the next episode keep healing with grace
[00:21:58] If this podcast means something to you
[00:22:00] It would mean so much to me if you could do these couple things
[00:22:03] One go to the heal with grace show page wherever you listen and tap the plus sign or click on the follow button
[00:22:09] So you don't miss an episode it helps both of us out
[00:22:12] While you're there if you could give a five-star review so that this podcast can reach more people
[00:22:18] It would mean so much to me so I can continue sharing episodes that help you as well as others
[00:22:24] Thanks for listening and I hope this brings you hope on your journey
