Stress-System Dysregulation or Nervous-System Dysregulation

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Stress-system dysregulation or nervous-system dysregulation is a state where the body’s stress-response mechanisms become imbalanced due to chronic stress or trauma. Causes can be from chronic stress, burnout, trauma, and, in some cases, early life adversity. The body can’t effectively control its stress response, resulting in a persistent, maladaptive state: the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight) is overactive, while the parasympathetic system (rest/digest) is underactive. Instead of returning to a calm state after a threat, the body stays in chronic high alert or shuts down. Also see: Fight-or-Flight Response (FFR). Symptoms:

• Physical: Chronic fatigue, poor digestion, headaches/migraines, sleep disturbance, inflammation, pain.
• Mental/emotional: Heightened anxiety, depression, irritability, emotional outbursts,, brain fog, poor concentration.

Stress-system dysregulation means the body is continually interpreting safe or mild situations as dangerous, causing long-term physical and mental health issues. Two states of dysfunction are:

• Hyperarousal: Feeling “on edge,” anxious, or angry
• Hypoarousal: Feeling numb, shutdown, or disconnected