Why Nervous System Support Comes First: Safety and Joy in Chronic Illness

Written By Kris Jasper

When you're living with conditions like hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) — your nervous system isn’t just a background system.

It’s the core operating system behind many of your symptoms.

This post explores how to build safety and joy in the body when you're navigating complex chronic conditions — with nervous system support at the heart of it all.

Why We Care About the Nervous System

Because everything flows from here.

Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls all the things your body does automatically:

  • Heart rate

  • Digestion

  • Blood pressure

  • Temperature regulation

  • Histamine response

  • Energy output

And more…

What happens when it’s out of balance?

That’s called dysautonomia — and it can cause:

  • Rapid heart rate or dizziness upon standing

  • Digestive dysfunction like bloating or gastroparesis

  • Sensory overload or crashing fatigue

  • Unpredictable histamine reactivity

This is why supporting the nervous system is foundational in chronic conditions like hEDS, POTS and MCAS.

What Actually Builds Safety in the Body?

Safety isn't just a mental concept — it's a physiological experience.

In the nervous system, safety feels like:

  • Eating without stress

  • Resting without guilt

  • Calm environments with fewer sensory demands

  • Connection and predictability

  • Movement that supports, not strains

You don’t have to be calm — just consistent.

Safety is what helps your body regulate, repair, and reduce flares. It’s how we begin to reclaim capacity.

How to Know When You're Dysregulated

Dysregulation often shows up in one of these patterns:

  • Fight: irritability, pushing too hard, anxiety

  • Flight: food fear, sensory overload, panic

  • Freeze: fatigue, shutdown, brain fog

  • Flop: total overwhelm or crash

You’re not overreacting. You’re dysregulated — and your body is trying to protect you.

Recognising this is the first step to responding with care instead of urgency.

What To Do When You're Dysregulated (Step-by-Step)

This is your reset plan — not to “fix,” but to soothe and support.

Step 1: Name it, don’t shame it

Ask:

  • Am I safe, or just functional?

  • What do I need — food, salt, rest, connection?

  • Is this a flare, dysregulation, or both?

Naming it is regulation.

Step 2: Reset Gently

  • Lay down with legs elevated

  • Sip sodium filled electrolytes

  • Use noise-reducing headphones

  • Do one sensory-soothing activity

  • Say to your body: “I am safe.”

  • Reach out to someone safe: “I’m having a tough time.”

You don’t need to fix it. Just respond.

Step 3: Build Back With Safety

Recovery takes time — and that’s OK.

Ease back with:

  • Warmth

  • Familiar routines

  • Nourishing food

  • Gentle connection

  • Self-kindness over pressure

The goal isn’t to never crash — it’s to notice sooner, respond softer, and return to safety with compassion.

Final Thoughts

You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to reset.
You are allowed to not be “on” all the time.

This is the Whole Body Approach — not about doing more, but about helping your body feel safe enough to do less.

Want More Support?

Kris Jasper
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