Having a dysregulated nervous system can impact your relationship with food, especially if you have an eating disorder.
Here’s how to cope.
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a weight-inclusive nutrition therapist who specializes in eating disorders
Maybe these questions I ask my clients might illuminate things for you.
Do you find it hard to slow down enough to eat lunch?
Or have issues identifying what sounds good to eat for dinner?
And chances are high that your nervous system is contributing to the problem.
Big picture, our nervous system impacts our perceptions of safety and threat, explains dietitianAllie McKinney, RD.
The SNS triggershyperarousal, when you are super responsive and revved up.
(You likely have heard this referred to asthe fight-or-flight response.)
But there is a third state of equilibrium, ruled by the ventral vagal pathway of the PNS.
In this state, our breath and heart rate are stable, and our digestive systems are working well.
a weight-inclusive nutrition therapist who specializes in eating disorders
That window of tolerance is important for helping you deal with everyday stressors or problems.
And some people can handle more and still stay in that window of tolerance than others.
This might result in an increased heart rate, rapid and shallow breathing, and a dysfunctional digestive system.
But when we are regulated, we are in connection with ourselves and the world around us.
When we feel anxious and hypervigilant, our eating may be rigid, perfectionistic, or obsessive.
When we feel anxious and hypervigilant, our eating may be rigid, perfectionistic, or obsessive.
Allie McKinney, RD.
Both hypo- and hyperarousal can causegastrointestinal distress.
People with eating disorders might also misinterpret signals like hunger and fullness as threats, she says.
When we are dysregulated, our bodies are in pure survival mode, Marks agrees.
To clarify, living more often in our windows of tolerance doesnt mean we dont experience stress.
But itdoesmean we are better able to handle that stress (and recover from it) in health-supportive ways.
Safety is knowing and feeling safe in our bodies and mind, Marks says.
Understanding how your nervous system works can help soften your lens on your relationship to food.
Knowing how to regulate your system around mealtimes and throughout the day can be empowering.
Here are some ways to tend to your nervous system:
1.
Its much easier to make sound decisions about how we fuel ourselves from a place of safety.
Not sure what a check-in would look like?
Then, ask yourself, Am I regulated, hyper-, or hypoaroused?
What do I need to get more regulated if not already?
It can be as simple as that.
Lean on co-regulation
Being in safe relationships is another way to enhance nervous system regulation.
Reach out toyour safe person or safe people(pets, too!)
and allow them to be a part of your nervous system work.
Practice mindfulness
When youre hyperaroused, it can help to practice breathing with an emphasis on the exhale.
Other techniques, like meditations and body scans, can be soothing when hyperaroused and support embodiment and interoception.
Try grounding practices
When you are hyperaroused, grounding practices can help you come down.
Engage your senses
When you are hypoaroused, using sense engagement can help you come up.
Examples are engaging sense of smell through essential oils or sense of touch through petting your dog.
Engage any or all your five senses and see what feels regulating.
Incorporate music
Putting on soothing music around mealtimes when youre hyperaroused can support down-regulation.
On the other hand, listening to uplifting and energizing music (and dancing, too!)
can help when youre hypoaroused and support up-regulation.
Glimmers are moments we must intentionally seek out or they will be missed.
Those are her glimmers, she says.
Those are her glimmers.
Take your time getting to know your system and which tools work and dont work for you.
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