Healing the Nervous System: Why a Multi-Layered Approach Matters
- Estie Spivakov
- Jan 6
- 5 min read
At SoulWell Wellness & Movement, my mom, Marina, and I see it every day (we've been there ourselves too): clients arrive exhausted, anxious, or stuck in cycles of fatigue and emotional overwhelm. They've often tried one or two tools - maybe breathwork or supplements - and felt some relief, but not the deep, lasting shift they crave. The reason? The nervous system isn't healed through a single lens. It requires addressing physiological foundations, mental and emotional patterns, and subconscious layers all at once.
No one approach is a magic bullet, and individual responses vary, but integrating these angles often yields the most sustainable and profound results.
The Physiological Layer: Fueling the Body for Calm
Your nervous system runs on physical inputs. Imbalances here can keep you in "survival mode," no matter how much meditation you do.
Blood Sugar Stability: Fluctuations in blood sugar trigger cortisol spikes, mimicking anxiety or panic. Studies link steady glucose levels to better mood regulation via reduced inflammation. Focus on protein-rich meals with fiber and healthy fats - think eggs with avocado & greens on the side. Herbs like cinnamon or fenugreek are also used to increase insulin sensitivity, helping glucose be funneled into the cells and out of the bloodstream more easily.
Nutrient Support: Magnesium, omega-3s, and B vitamins aid nerve signaling and reduce stress responses. Deficiencies correlate with higher anxiety in observational research. Sources like leafy greens, nuts, and fatty fish help, while supplementation supports effectively adding these nutrients into one's diet if they are significantly depleted. Herbal remedies like ashwaganda, lemon balm, St. John's Wort, Chamomile, and milky oats can also help lower cortisol.
Gut Health: The gut-brain axis connects digestive health directly to nervous system function - 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, and dysbiosis or leaky gut can send inflammatory signals to the brain, worsening anxiety or mood issues. Not to mention that leaky gut also affects the body's ability to absorb nutrients, leading to deficiencies which can also contribute to nervous system dysregulation. Studies also link an imbalanced gut microbiome to altered vagus nerve signaling and heightened stress responses. Supplementing with high-quality probiotics, L-glutamine, fermented foods, and herbs like slippery elm support gut barrier repair.
Brain Chemical Imbalances: Dysregulation of neurotransmitters like serotonin or dopamine can contribute to nervous system issues, such as anxiety or mood disorders. Research links these imbalances to stress-induced changes in brain chemistry, potentially exacerbating symptoms. Supplementation with omega-3's, GABA, & other supplements can help create more calm and balance.
Low-Grade Body-Wide Inflammation: Chronic low-level inflammation affects the nervous system by crossing the blood-brain barrier, contributing to cognitive fog, depression, or neurodegeneration. Studies associate it with altered neurotransmitter function and heightened stress responses. Anti-inflammatory herbs like turmeric & ginger, as well as supplementation with omega-3's and antioxidants that are found naturally in foods can help reduce inflammation, leading to a sense of safety in the body & mind
Toxin Buildup: Environmental toxins like heavy metals can accumulate and disrupt nervous system function, leading to symptoms like chronic fatigue or cognitive issues. Evidence from toxicology studies links exposure to neurotoxicity. Enhancing liver function, as well as opening up elimination pathways (skin, kidneys, lymphatic system, and lungs) enable efficient removal of toxic substances that may be causing harm to the nervous system and body overall.
Hidden Parasite Infection: Certain parasites, like Toxoplasma, can infect the nervous system and alter behavior or cognition, with studies showing links to neurological symptoms in some cases. Detoxification protocols and herbal antimicrobials like wormwood are often used in these cases.
Hormonal Imbalance: Disruptions in hormones like cortisol or estrogen affect nervous system regulation, contributing to mood swings or anxiety. Balancing blood sugar levels, eating a nutritious diet, allowing for proper rest & recovery, exercise, and certain supplements help to create proper balance.
Spinal Misalignment: Misalignments may compress nerves (like the all-important Vagus nerve) potentially affecting nervous system signals and contributing to pain or dysregulation. Exercise that focuses on creating correct alignment in the body (e.g. Pilates) & manual therapies like osteopathy, fascial stretch therapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic can help.
Sleep and Recovery: Poor sleep exacerbates stress. Techniques like consistent bedtime routines improve REM cycles, aiding emotional processing. Herbal teas like chamomile or valerian can offer support for a healthy sleep.
These physical steps aren't always sufficient alone, as emotional layers can override them.
The Mental and Emotional Layer: Processing the Present
Our thoughts and feelings directly impact the nervous system via the mind-body connection.
Mindfulness and Meditation: These practices reduce amygdala activity (the fear center) and enhance prefrontal cortex function for better emotion regulation. Meta-analyses confirm benefits for anxiety and emotional resilience.
Emotional Processing & Release: Processing emotions can be done through a variety of means, such as journaling, energy work, embodied movement, and visualization (there is a specific technique we like to practice at SoulWell that takes no longer than 90 seconds). It is important to address the emotions that come up, while not allowing them to drag us down. Once the emotions are processed, we move on to choosing more empowering thoughts, which helps us to create a new, healthier pathway in our brains.
Somatic movement: It is important that there is a felt-sense of safety in the body. Affirmations are great, but our nervous system doesn't speak a verbal language. It can only understand us through somatic movements that help it know that it is safe, such as humming, tapping on your chest, singing, swaying side to side, etc.
Nature Exposure: Spending time outdoors regulates the nervous system by lowering cortisol. Neurological studies show it boosts mood and cognitive function.
This layer builds awareness, but subconscious roots can pull you back without deeper work.
The Subconscious Layer: Rewiring Hidden Patterns
Below conscious awareness lie beliefs formed early - often driving automatic stress responses.
EFT Tapping and Subconscious Reprogramming: Tapping on acupoints in the body while affirming the current feelings, patterns, blockages, and then affirming the new, desired thoughts reduces cortisol and amygdala activity in clinical trials. It's a bridge between energy work and psychology - promising for trauma release, and changing subconscious beliefs and fears that hold us back and keep us stuck.
NLP and Mindset Tools: By mindset tools, we don't mean "be positive" (ew... has this ever truly worked for anyone?). Instead, neurolinguistic programming (NLP) actually works to reframe the limiting beliefs that keep us stuck and prevent us from changing our realities. Affirmations alone are not enough - we have to get our brain to find evidence of the affirmation at hand, so that it seeks out more and more evidence of the desired outcome until it becomes a reality. We don't manifest what we desire, we manifest who we are, our core beliefs, our state of being, and our subconscious alignment.
Balancing Perspectives: Anxiety can keep us stuck in negativity and fear. However, according to the spiritual Law of Balance, every situation has as many positives as it does negatives. Viewing all life situations/circumstances from this perspective allows us to slowly neutralize and shift our emotions around the situation, which softens the perceived threat, creates a feelin of safety, and allows us to come back to empowerment - and from this place we can continue to create our desired reality.
Subconscious tools unlock why patterns persist - integrating them creates deep, profound, and lasting shifts in health and in all areas of life.
Why All Layers Together?
Healing isn't linear or isolated. Physiology stabilizes the base, mental/emotional work processes daily triggers, and subconscious tools clear the roots and create a new, fresh, and healthier foundation (soil). This multi-pillared approach is exactly what works in our practice - clients experience profound shifts when we blend nutrition, herbal medicine, therapeutic movement, and subconscious reprogramming.
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With warmth,
Estie & Marina
SoulWell Wellness & Movement
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