Mindfulness

Understanding the Vagus Nerve: Myths vs. Facts

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Stressed? Tired? Anxious? Run down? Digestive issues? Just not feeling the spark in the bedroom? Perhaps your Vagus Nerve needs resetting!

Or so many practitoners will try to persuade you. And of course they will share the secrets of their protocol for only 10 dollars and your email address.

Fact: The vagus nerve is the 10th cranial nerve, and one of the only ones that leave the skull to travel around the body (Vagus – Wanderer – Vagrant). In the case of the vagus nerve, it heads down the neck, outside of the spinal cord, and acts as the parasympathetic highway, adding control to the heart, digestion, major solid organs and even your response to inflammation.

So yes, if you are experiencing a huge variety of issues, then the vagus nerve is likely to be involved, especially if there is a psychological component.

However. A vagus nerve reset isn’t a secret protocol or a mystic trick, and it may not make all those issues go away, especially if you haven’t actually made a start at dealing with the underlying issues leading to them.

Want to reset your vagus nerve? Do anything that relaxes you. Breathing exercises, meditation, gentle rythmic exercise. As long as its not excessively stimulating and you enjoy it, it’ll work.

Some research also shows that there is a relationship between heart rate variability and the vagus nerve, and that asymmetric breathing (short nasal in, long pursed lip breath out), can help this.

When you look at it closely, most of the online information regarding resetting the vagus nerve is actually long term lifestyle management, with a funny hat. Change your diet, control your stress, exercise and train in a manner that supports your health. And most importantly, breathe.

Simple, cheap, effective.

And of course, always consult an expert when considering such things, to make sure that you are solving the correct problem.

On: The power of words

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Words have power. This has been known for a very, very long time.

The words we say to each other, the words we say to ourselves and the words we use to describe the world around us.

By reframing the words we use, we can change the way we view the universe. Even the language we speak with changes the way we interact with the world around us.

The internal monologue we have can change our entire day, or even path of life. So does everyone elses. And of course, these things can be deep and challenging to deal with, so are far beyond the remit of such pages here.

With that in mind, the following are suggestions that can allow us to catch ourselves in simple situations that may then offer benfit to the way we approach certain circumstances.

For example. You injure a knee on a run, which limits your mobility while it heals. If you start telling yourself that you cannot do things because of your knee, then you are creating limitations within your mindset. However, simply by saying that in spite of the knee you can do activities that maintain your fitness, you will optimise recovery, improve your mindset and view the current difficulty in a better light. That is not to say that it is not a difficulty, but the perspective shift of the barrier changes its height.

Or. Change “I can’t” to “how can I?” Shift the view of the problem.

Within a medical setting, we often get patients expressing suffering. Suffering is subjective, valid and to be believed. However, as a professional, you can help reframe the situation by the use of your language patterns to check in with what they are experiencing. From suffering to experiencing does not and should not invalidate their personal reality, but may help explore what it means at that point.

Again, within a medical or caring setting, empowerment is important. If we help someone, we can often disempower them and either create passisivity or an unbalanced dynamic. So instead of helping, consider or ask how you can support them. If they have limited abilities for any reason, then this can help set the correct tone for them to communicate their needs, rather than having your “help” thrust upon them.

If you have repetitive and perhaps tedious tasks to help those around us, from small children and work colleagues to aging relatives, and find yourself saying that you’ve got to, reframe it to get to. I’ve got to take the kids to football – I get to watch them learn new skills. I’ve got to see my grandfather this afternoon – I get to spend time with my grandfather. And so forth.

And sometimes, if you don’t know what to say, say nothing. Supportive silence is much underrated and certainly underused. Slow down, check in with yourself and say nothing.

In spite – because of

Can’t – how can

Suffering – experiencing

Got to – get to

Silence.

Onwards.