SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE AND OUR OBESSESSION WITH BUSY

“Are You Busy?”, “Have you had a busy day?”, I recently caught myself saying this to my dentist and a cab driver. I’m not sure why I care if these people are busy or not. Or why people say they have been “SOOO BUSY”, when they’re actually not. Do they want a reward for it? People also like to be seen as being busy. It makes them feel important. For sure when the heat is on we need to ride the tiger and fit a lot in to a tight schedule. But we don’t need to exist in this state all the time.

When in our “busy” mode, we are mostly operating from our sympathetic nervous system. This is one half of the Autonomic Nervous System. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for our FIGHT OR FLIGHT response. This necessary survival mechanism, allows us to call on our body’s resources to execute an explosive power charged response. A genius function if we were faced with a tiger or bear. The blood vessels open wider allowing more blood flow to our limbs to either run or fight. Lingering in this state however, is not necessary for day–to-day life. Stress keeps us here. After a while our body adapts (GAS – General Adaptation Syndrome) eventually leading to exhaustion. A common presentation in the clinic is people that have been constantly operating from this mode as a defence mechanism.

Every aspect has an opposite. The other half of the Autonomic Nervous System is the Para-Sympathetic. This is our “REST” and “DIGEST” mode. When in rest mode our resources can return to our vital organs. The body attends to important digestion and reproductive functions. Such processes cannot be in use whilst our Sympathetic nervous system is dominating. Hence why so many suffer from gynaecological and digestive complaints. The body has not been given the chance for maintenance in this region.

Speaking in Chinese Medicine terms, we could say that the Sympathetic nervous system is our Yang state and the Para-Sympathetic is our Yin. Often people’s yang aspects are in overdrive. For example the back of the body is Yang. This area is usually hardened and stiff in most people, whilst their front region (Yin aspect) is respectively atrophied and weak.

There are certain activities that allow us to re-set our nervous system back into the Para-Sympathetic. MEDITATION returns the body to an energy conserving state. It is an activity that requires effort but does not consume energy. SLEEP promotes parasympathetic functions like digestion. During sleep blood can return to the heart where it is housed and can regenerate.

ACUPUNCTURE drops people straight into their Para-Sympathetic Nervous System. It makes me happy when I hear gurgles and rumbles from patients tummy’s during their treatment. This tells me “rest” and “digest” is the dominant state. Some patients fall asleep straight away, indicating their true state as extremely tired. When one has needles in, one does not have the urge to move. It is rare that we get the chance to rest in this way. The body simply CORRECTS ITSELF and restores balance if given the right conditions.