Okay,
I'm sure you are thinking... what is he rambling about now?

Simple.
It always comes back to a stress response.

The body goes into that sympathetic response... fight, flight, freeze, fawn.

What I just learned recently is that this response follows a specific pattern.

First, all the flexor muscles contract.
This means the shoulders go up, the head comes forward, the abdomen contracts, the hips rotate, the knees bend, and the arms come up...
And suddenly, you become Mike Tyson ready to knock someone out.
This is why I call the sympathetic state the Tensed Contraction state.
Dr. Tennant calls this the "bowling ball" syndrome.

During the second phase, your body redirects energy and blood flow away from the internal organs.
Hey, If you have to knock someone out or run away, do you want to be digesting that last meal?
So all internal organ function decreases.
This will show up as digestive issues, immune system issues, chronic inflammation, and many others.
That is where the constipation comes from.

But, there is even more...

In the third phase, blood and resources are removed from the pre-frontal cortex.
This is the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking and executive function.
This is the rational and logical portion of the brain.
This is also the part of the brain that helps to regulate emotional responses.
Think Mr. Spock.
With less resources and less control, the emotions are left to run wild.
This is where we get anger, irritability, anxiety, depression, and all the mental and emotional conditions.

In the fourth and final phase, the brain's ability to perceive, respond, and RECOVER from stress is compromised due to prolonged sympathetic activation. This state creates sensitization which causes chronic pain conditions.
Pain should go away as tissue heals normally after any trauma or injury.
This should happen within 3 weeks to 3 months.
Any pain beyond this time can be associated with this pain sensitization state.
This is a sign that the sympathetic system is still activated.

So, if we know these 4 stages and how they are related, then we know exactly what is happening to us in real time and how activated our sympathetic system is.

As we begin to engage the parasympathetic system (rest, relax, repair, reproduce), we will back out of these four stages.

The chronic pain symptoms will begin to improve and disappear.

This is where I see so many people drop out of care at this stage.
And, surprise!
Their symptoms mysteriously come back a few months later or a few years later.

And now you know why...

But, if they continue with care, emotional regulation will improve and they will feel better.
Then the internal medicine conditions will improve and the body will function the way it was designed.

Finally, the flexor muscles will relax.

The shoulders will drop down, the breathing will deepen into the belly, and the body will return to its fully relaxed natural state... parasympathetic.

This is the Relaxed Expansion state.

This is our true fully expressed self.

This is the state in which all of our dreams, goals, and desires can be realized.

This is the state that we experienced as kids on a Saturday with nothing to do but play, explore, create, and dream.

This state is still available to all of us, now.