Overview
Your autonomic nervous system is made up of nerves that control those “automatic” things you need to do to survive. A few of those necessary things include blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, and digestion of your food. Autonomic dysfunction or dysautonomia refers to problems with this autonomic nervous system.
What Is Autonomic Dysfunction?
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls several basic bodily functions. These include heart rate, body temperature, breathing rate, digestion, and many other systems as well. You don’t have to consciously think about these systems in order for them to work. The ANS provides the connection between your brain and your internal organs. For instance, it connects to the heart, liver, sweat glands, and even the interior muscles of your eye.
The ANS is made up of two subsystems: the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SANS) and the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system (PANS). Most organs have nerves from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
The SANS usually stimulates organs. For instance, it increases heart rate and blood pressure when necessary. The PANS, on the other hand usually slows down bodily processes. For example, it reduces heart rate and blood pressure. There are certainly exceptions. Digestion and urination, for instance are stimulated by the PANS and slowed by the SANS.
The general responsibility of the SANS is to trigger emergency responses when required. These “fight or flight” responses get you ready to respond to stressful situations. The PANS, on the other hand, conserves your energy and restores tissues for ordinary functions.
Problems with the ANS can range from mild to life threatening. Sometimes only one part of the nervous system is affected. In other cases, the entire ANS is affected. Some conditions are temporary and can be reversed, while others are chronic and will continue to worsen over time. Diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson’s disease can cause irregularities with the ANS. Problems with ANS regulation often involve organ failure, or the failure of the nerves to transmit a necessary signal.
Symptoms of Autonomic Dysfunction
Effects of autonomic dysfunction can include just a small part of the ANS, or the entire ANS. Some symptoms that may indicate the presence of an autonomic nerve disorder include:
- dizziness and fainting upon standing up (orthostatic hypotension)
- inability to alter heart rate with exercise (exercise intolerance)
- sweating abnormalities, which could alternately be too much sweat or insufficient sweat
- digestion difficulties due to slow digestion. Resulting symptoms could include loss of appetite, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, and difficulty swallowing.
- urinary problems. These can include difficulty starting urination, incontinence, and incomplete emptying of the bladder
- sexual problems. In men, this could be difficulty with ejaculation and/or maintaining an erection. In women, this could be vaginal dryness and/or difficulty with orgasm
- vision problems. This could be blurry vision, or the failure of the pupils to react quickly enough to changes in light.
Any or all of these symptoms may be present, and effects may be mild to severe.
Orthostatic hypotension or orthostatic intolerance (a milder form of orthostatic hypotension) are two of the most common conditions resulting from ANS disorders. Orthostatic intolerance, which results in low blood pressure on standing, causes alarming symptoms. These include lightheadedness, fainting, and heart palpitations.
Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms, such as tremor and muscle weakness, may also result from certain forms of autonomic dysfunction.
Causes of dysautonomia include:
- Heavy metal poisoning (You can do the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis in our centre to detect the heavy metal poisoning)
- Autoimmune disorders including Sjögren's syndrome, lupus, sarcoidosis, Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
- Parkinson's disease (in advanced parkinsonism or early in multiple system atrophy)
- HIV and AIDS
- Hereditary disorders including familial dysautonomia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Chronic alcohol misuse
- Some bacterial infections: (Lyme disease, tuberculosis, and Helicobacter pylori)
- Spinal cord injury
- Surgery or injury involving the nerves
- Physical trauma or injury
- Closed brain injury caused by asphyxiation, poisoning or encephalitis
- Pure autonomic failure
- Amyloidosis
- Botulism
- Diabetes mellitus
- Multiple sclerosis
Sympathetic nervous system-predominant dysautonomia is common in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis, raising the possibility that such dysautonomia could be their common clustering underlying pathogenesis.
Therapy for Autonomic Dysfunction | dysautonomia in Malaysia
1. Neuro-hypnotherapy
Talking to the Amygdala: Expanding the Science of Psychological Hypnosis.
Recent brain research indicates that it is possible to talk to the amygdala, a key part of the brain that deals with certain emotions. The inner mind is concerned with emotion, imagination and memory as well as the autonomic nervous system which automatically controls our internal organs. By talking to the amygdala, an experienced clinical hypnotherapist can relax the autonomic nervous system shutting down, or curtailing the trigger that sets off secretion of the adrenal and pituitary glands. This gives the body an opportunity to rebuild its immune system in many chronic illnesses.
When a patient is in a hypnotic trance the amygdala automatically shuts down the rapid alert system and turns off the stress hormones epinephrine, cortocotropin, and glucocorticoids. The technique of relaxation through hypnosis has proven a highly effective tool in giving the body a chance to heal itself through its own inherent wisdom system. This is the part of the mind that knows how to make you breathe and send oxygen to your blood cells.
2. Biofeedback
The autonomic nervous system has two divisions which are the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system gets you up, gets you ready and gets you going, and regulates the flight/fight response. It gets you on the freeway, keeps you thinking about going to the doctor's office, or what kind of presentation you are going to make. The parasympathetic nervous system calms and relaxes you (when you lie down, take your break, go to sleep etc.), and manages body functions like digestion. The two work in tandem with each other in a reciprocal relationship. It was Canon and Selye, researchers in the body response to stress, who increased general awareness of the role of stress in physical diseases and mental disorders. Many of these manifested in disregulations of autonomic response.
Biofeedback is based on a principle known as “operant conditioning,” specifically positive reinforcement. Research has shown positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior and when a behavior is reinforced repeatedly and consistently over time, the behavior can be learned and retained. This is why the biofeedback treatment gains typically endure even after treatment ends. Biofeedback is frequently used to treat stress-related conditions, including high blood pressure, eating disorders, some anxiety disorders and certain types of headaches. It’s also used to help people learn how to relax more deeply. It’s most often performed by physicians, physiologists, kinesiologists (movement specialist) and psychologists, but it may also be done by other health-care workers
Contact me for more information regarding the Autonomic Dysfunction Analysis and Assessment in Malaysia.
Source:
http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/articles/talking-to-the-amygdala-expanding-the-science-of-hypnosis#sthash.DYid9Ksv.dpuf
http://www.cbtinthecity.com/CBTblog/fibromyalgia-treatments-biofeedback-hypnotherapy-and-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-as-fibromyalgia-treatments/
http://www.healthline.com/health/autonomic-dysfunction#Overview1
http://www.christopherfisherphd.com/psychological-services/biofeedback/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysautonomia#Signs_and_symptoms
