Just wanted to share some good links I found about how to stimulate the PNS - very helpful, and possibly essential, for those of us with anxiety-induced pain conditions.
How to Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Simple Trick to Relieve Stress: Vagus Nerve Stimulation
The PNS - your best friend.
The PNS - your best friend.
Age: 49| Onset Age: 47| Symptoms: Pain locations: Intermittent left and right front pelvic floor lateral to urethra; occasionally left side tailbone pain (rarer); left spermatic chord pain (become rare); Post BM-Pain helped by distraction during Bowel Movement.| Current meds: None. Helped by: deep breathing, mediation, hiking, distractions, exercise. Approximately 98% improved, varying depending on stress levels.
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Re: The PNS - your best friend.
The tl;dr of that is:
Six ways in which we can activate the PNS naturally:
- Bringing Your Attention To Physical Sensation, for example focusing your attention right now on the feeling of your feet touching the ground, or the sensation of your feet rubbing against the insides of your shoes, or focusing on the feeling of saliva in your mouth, it's wetness and texture, and the warmth of your tongue as it lies naturally in its place.
- Breathing Deeply (admin comment: see diaphragmatic breathing in this forum)
- Muscle Relaxation e.g relaxation meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, or any other exercise that focuses on relaxing the body, also hot baths (admin comment: this is one of the key techniques used by Dr Wise)
- Equal Timed Breathing + Positive Emotion — count to 5 for inhalations and exhalations while focussing attention on the centre of your chest while imaging someone who is dear to you (could be anyone from a beloved pet, to a family member, to a spiritual figure who you've never even met in real life) in order to generate feelings of good will, love, peace or gratitude.
- Regular Meditation Practice — meditation induces relaxation & will activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Positive Mental Focus, Optimistic Attitude — An optimistic attitude will make us less prone to worry, fearful mind states and therefore flight or fight responses (i.e. SNS activation)
In summary:
Simple Trick to Relieve Stress: Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Vagus nerve is the most important element of the parasympathetic nervous system, the one that calms you down.
- Diaphragmatic breathing (“belly breathing”) — start by taking a deep inhalation into your belly while counting to five. Then very slowly exhale while pursing your lips. To get into a vagus-nerve stimulation mode, it’s best to reduce the number of breaths from a typical 10-14 per minute to 5-7 per minute.
- Cold water facial immersion, especially after exercise, can quickly stimulate the vagus nerve — while seated, bend your head forward into a basin of cold water, and submerge your forehead, eyes, and at least two-thirds of your cheeks.
- Immerse your tongue in saliva — imagine that you are sucking on a juicy lemon, or fill your mouth with warm water. Breathe deeply through your nose.
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Re: The PNS - your best friend.
Great stuff guys!
Age: 42. Onset Age: 21-22, then a break, then 27-29, then a break, then 40-present. Symptoms: waxing and waning testicular pain (right only), painful sex and ejaculation. Helped by: physical therapy. Worsened by: sexual activity, ejaculation, prolonged sitting, cold weather. Tests/Prior Treatments: urinalysis, pelvic CAT scan with contrast dye, cystoscopy, urine cytology study, nerve blocks, radio-frequency ablation of the inguinal nerve, testicular ultrasound, antibiotic courses including Levaquin and Cipro. All tests were normal with the exception of urinalysis which revealed microscopic traces of blood. Medications: Klonopin 0.5mg.