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#dysautonomia #PosturalOrthostaticTacychardiaSyndrome #POTS #AutonomicNervousSystem #Spoonie #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #EhlersDanlos #VagusNerve
I wanted to share some of the weird, potentially woo-woo things I've implemented along my healing journey that seems to have helped some of my POTS & Dysautonomia symptoms. In my defense, some of these things have been shown to help heal Vagus nerve issues, so maybe that's behind some of my improvement.
Without further ado, here are my top three weird things for you to try!
8D / Panning/ Neurodivergent Music Arrangements
Thanks to stumbling onto the more spiritual side of TikTok, I fell deep into the rabbit hole that is *8D" music compilations, Also, known as "panning" or more loosely "Neurodivergent" or "Neurospicy" music. It's similar to binaural beats in a way, but the methods for creating each of these types of music is fundamentally different. The song is arranged in a way that the sound travels from left to right, back and forth, which gives s sense of movement to it when listened to with headphones.
People with ADHD and those on the Spectrum seem to respond well to this sort of music. For me the music feels like it's moving around in my brain and these songs mostly induce a calming effect. Certain upbeat songs can also be stimulating or induce a bit of vertigo, so it's a good idea to try out different types and see what works for you. I also wouldn't just dive in and spend several hours listening to 8D music right out of the gate. I try to listen to a few songs when I'm feeling especially anxious or like my nervous system is frizzing out on me. It may be worth adding to your arsenal of things to try as well. Playlists of this type of music can be found almost anywhere, from social media, to YouTube and Spotify. Check it out and let me know if it helps you!
"Hearing 430 hertz in one ear and 470 in the other changes the way your brain registers the sound. The 40-hertz difference can trigger areas of the brain associated with relaxation and calm. Listening to 8D audio can be beneficial to your mental health in much the same ways as going to a live music show would be." Voices.com
Singing, or Stimulating My Vagus Nerve
This one is rooted in Vagus nerve research, though I didn't know it at the time. I was feeling decent one day and one of my favorite 80's Grunge songs came on the radio one day while I was driving home from work. This song in particular had a lot of low notes, and I found that my symptoms seem to ease up quite a bit if I did some singing in the car (with no witnesses of course) each day. If I go a few days without belting out some tunes, my body wants to start up with the random bouts of tachycardia that us POTSie's are prone too.
Singing, in particular singling with your lower chest, belly or deep humming, is shown to stimulate the vagus nerve and this has been proven to help with vagal tone. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic (which is known for it's POTS treatment) does Vagus Nerve Stimulation via implants to treat several medical conditions. I'm not going to go into the details of how this works, just give it a try and see if it helps for you. If nothing else, you've boosted your mood for a few minutes while escaping into a song memory!
Deep Breathing Exercises
I haven't been doing this much lately, as I haven't needed to, but when my heart rate was at it's squirrelly-est I found that doing a few deep breathing exercises could essential "restart" the pattern my heart had fallen into. It can be as simple as taking a deep breath, all the way to your belly, and holding it for 10-15 seconds, slowly breathing out, and repeating the process several times. Think of this as a "as needed" technique as well as something to build into your daily routine. The link below after the quote has more information, if you'd like to look into it more.
Deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange — that is, the beneficial trade of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly, it can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure. - Harvard Medical School
I hope this small list of things I do to help my whacky nervous system may be useful to you too. If they are, leave me a comment to let me know. Or if you have any other non-typical suggested things to do I'd love to hear them! <3
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