This is an explanation that helped me to understand the interplay between the nervous system and my experience of symptoms. It also explains why symptoms can change as our nervous system regulates.

Our brain sends symptoms to our body in order to keep us ‘safe’. For example, if the brain has been wired to believe that mould is a threat then when we are in the presence of mould it sends symptoms to alert us, we then respond and become aware of the ‘threat’ and move to ‘safety’ and avoid the threat. This often happens subconsciously (for example, the body may respond before becoming consciously aware of the mould).

In the case of fatigue, the brain has cross-wired and believes too much activity is the threat. When we expend too much energy the brain sends us symptoms to stop us and keep us ‘safe’ from the ‘threat’ of too much activity. (Don’t worry, this is a concept that took me months to accept.)

Once we start brain retraining, we learn to ignore these symptoms and rewire so that they don’t trigger the same response. Our brain still believes there is a THREAT but its usual message will stop working because we no longer stress or ruminate when our usual symptoms appear. In response to this the brain will send a new symptom to try and get our attention in another attempt to ‘warn’ us of a perceived threat.

For example: If headaches were a primary symptom, the brain will sense a ‘threat’ and will turn on the headache alarm, but if you are doing brain retraining you aren’t responding to it anymore. You used to ruminate, focus and worry about the headaches, but you have stopped doing this. Your brain starts to panic, it believes there is a REAL and TRUE threat that you are not listening to. Next, it tries a new symptom and you may respond with, ‘What’s this? I’ve never experienced this before?’ When you respond in this way with worry and rumination the limbic system ‘wins’, it has kept the same loop in play and believes it has kept you ‘safe’.

The limbic and nervous systems are trying to keep your body flooded with Cortisol, Adrenaline and Norepinephrine; it will play around with symptoms and triggers to keep you alert and in this chemical state.

The best way to manage this is to ignore new symptoms, the more you focus and acknowledge them the more wired they become. Accept them as a manifestation of the nervous system. Understanding this is how the brain is working is a source of empowerment, and explains why symptoms can seem so random with limbic system impairment. We can override these responses by responding with calmness and indifference.