vagus nerve Archives - Primitive reflex integration support for neurodivergent children under 10

Safe and Sound Protocol Side Effects vs ANS Processing – Reframing our perspective

During discovery calls, I am often asked about adverse Safe and Sound Protocol side effects. I sometimes hear from clients who have been through the process before with another provider, and who “suffered”, or about people who have scared themselves by reports of side effects from online forums and blog posts.

I would like to explain a little bit about what it all means, and why understanding the impact of the Safe and Sound Protocol is extremely important.

Safe and Sound Protocol side effects

When we work with the SSP, we need to work with an individual’s nervous system. This means watching very carefully for signs that the autonomic nervous system is processing. NOT for “signs of dysregulation”, which is a term that people tend to over-use in an SSP context, in my opinion. If we notice “dysregulation”, we’ve gone way too quickly for the nervous system to keep up with.

Look at the Safe and Sound Protocol as marathon training: could you run a marathon in 2 hours in 3 months time? Most people couldn’t. Most people would need to train for months (or years), and would complete in at least 5-6 hours. If most people tried to rush into running a marathon in a couple of weeks and with minimal training, they’d more than likely need to receive medical attention.

Safe and Sound Protocol “Side Effects”

Safe and Sound Protocol Side Effects vs ANS Processing

Early on in my experience as an SSP provider, probably about a year in, I decided to do a self-experiment and deliberately over-listen to SSP to see what would happen. I listened to the whole five hours in a weekend! The result was incredibly interesting and has given me a profound understanding of how the Safe and Sound Protocol works. The result of 2.5 hours of listening per day – in which I deliberately ignored cues of panic, mobilisation and collapse – was that I experienced severe vertigo, severe jet lag-like fatigue, an inability to organise my thoughts or move forward (like wading through glue), and heavily disrupted sleep interspersed with nightmares.

My discomfort continued for about 2 days, and then settled and gradually disappeared. However, I did not benefit at all from that particular round of SSP, whereas I’d always experienced beautiful shifts in the past from working at the speed of my nervous system. By this, I mean I always responded to my autonomic cues, and titrated the SSP accordingly. This doesn’t mean “x minutes per day” – it means yesterday I listened to 10 minutes but then found I couldn’t get to sleep… so today, I’m going to take a break and let my system settle. Tomorrow, I may listem, or I may not, depending on whether my system tells me it’s safe to continue listening or not.

Whenever I’ve done another round of the Safe and Sound Protocol since, I’ve noticed signs that my nervous system needs to settle more easily. I’ve experienced misophonia and tinnitus temporarily too on occasion, but both settle within a few days – although I do have the knowledge to be able to help my body process using somatic techniques, so this is something I am able to help my clients with if any processing becomes uncomfortable after listening.

Another “side effect” I’ve experienced more recently is a sore neck and shoulder, which suddenly appeared half way through a Zoom session with a client.

My neck and shoulder pain started after I snowboarded down a sand dune in North East Brazil back in 2003, and fell off at high speed! However, whenever I’ve been stressed or overloaded, my shoulder pain has always re-emerged. Normally, it takes ibuprofen and a couple of visits to an osteopath to sort it out. However, this time, I suddenly had the reaslisation that I was half way through hour 2 of the SSP and that while I am completely un-stressed at the moment, my body was trying to tell me to keep myself safe.

As soon as I’d realised this was the case and acknowledged it, the pain started to dissipate, and the following day, I woke up and it was no longer there. I found this enlightening, and similar effects have been reported by several clients in the past.

I ask my clients to watch out for a number of very obvious signs of autonomic shifts. The rule of thumb is to put anything out of the ordinary down to the Safe and Sound Protocol rather than assuming SSP has nothing to do with it.

Open communication with a provider is of paramount importance. Agreeing how you’ll work together and how you’ll communicate is key, as well as keeping in close contact throughout the process. Do NOT go AWOL and seethe silently about side effects – you have engaged your provider to keep you safe and they have a duty of care toward you!

The bottom line is not to fear this processing. It needs to happen, but it needs to happen safely and with understanding and connection.

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Post-natal PTSD and the Safe and Sound Protocol

I often tell my clients of how I feel my post-natal PTSD is healed, and yet I had an experience late in 2022 that made me realise that I’m not all the way there quite yet – but I DID feel empowered to explain this to medical professionals, who now listen to me as a result of my explanation of what’s going on in my physiology.

If you’d told me even five years ago that I was a trauma survivor, I would not have believed it.

Post-natal PTSD

However, I realised that I had trauma from the birth of both my children during somatic training a while back, in which that out-of-control situation and body position were re-enacted, and my reaction was identical to my reaction to the hideousness of my very medicalised birth, as a result of an induction that I wish I’d not consented to (I wish I’d insisted on a C-section, even though that’s not a politically correct thing to say – and even though our NCT facilitator made us feel that water births by candlelight were the only way to go).

I remember a health visitor coming to visit when we first moved to our current home. She decided that I must have post-natal depression because I wasn’t working and my child (aged 13 months) wasn’t going to nursery yet. I decided that health visitors were nosey parkers who could not distinguish between someone who wanted to spend time with their baby and their narrow-minded narrative of post-natal depression. After all, I didn’t WANT to work – I was happy just hanging out with other mums and babies at that stage. However, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered whether she was partially correct – except it was PTSD. But I kept rationalising and telling myself that I was “fine” – because that’s what a traumatised person does. After all, we’ve survived the experience and even “moved on”.

Through further work with Polyvagal Theory and story telling, I realised that my medical trauma goes back even further: back to a time that I was admitted to hospital with suspected appendicitis as a teen and was treated like a body rather than a person. However, this potential root cause is a relatively recent discovery.

As a result of my birth trauma and subsequent post-natal PTSD, which has included flashbacks and nightmares, whenever I drove past the Royal Surrey County Hospital, where I had my first child, I used to get a rising sick feeling and feel angry and upset. I couldn’t work out why. I used to take both children for various hospital appointments there, and from the moment an appointment letter arrived, I’d feel powerless and shouty. When I visited the hospital, I used to walk past the maternity department and would feel triggered. I would arrive around 3 hours early for appointments – using the terrible hospital parking situation as an excuse to be so early -and be spontaneously rude to people without realising why. I wondered at the time if there was something wrong with me, as I thought it was strange that I used to be suddenly so spiteful and unpleasant – that is not the usual me. My trauma was so obvious (and yet not obvious to me at the time).

Following my first ever round of SSP back in 2018, I remember taking my youngest child to a hospital appointment at that hospital, and not only did I arrive at an appropriate time – around 20 minutes early, which allowed for traffic and parking, but I was socially engaged for the appointment, wasn’t rude or defensive with anyone and then walked back past the maternity department and thought “oh yes, that happened…” but I didn’t feel triggered! I still felt angry about what happened, and the fact that things SHOULD have been different, but my body had not reacted in the same way – I hadn’t gone into fight or flight. I had acknowledged a time when I didn’t feel safe, but wasn’t dominated by it.

We are all offered talking therapies by the hospital we give birth in. We can even sit and go through birth notes (albeit selectively) with a midwife. However, this does not even touch trauma, because as I’m sure you know, trauma is non-verbal.

During a recent traumatising incident involving breast screening and negative framing of my very small chance of having a malignant growth, I pretty much lost my powers of speech.

This step towards healing my post-natal PTSD is just one of many wonderful effects that the Safe and Sound Protocol has had for me.

In the past year, I’ve had to take my child for two general anaesthetics, which is not an easy thing to do – remaining calm and cheerful when they’re artificially put to sleep and potentially wake up in pain. I have dealt with both incidents easily without being ragey from the point of receiving an appointment letter, or bursting into tears.

All of this was achievable without having to attend counselling (which wouldn’t have worked, as I would not have admitted to or even accessed the feelings associated with the event).

post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD post-natal PTSD

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PEMF – a powerful follow-up to the Safe and Sound Protocol

In June 2021, I attended a children’s birthday party at a waterpark. While I was spectating, I somehow slipped over on wet decking and walloped down, flat on my face – and more agonisingly, flat on my left knee. It was so painful that I thought I was going to faint, but thankfully didn’t. The waterpark gave me a bourbon biscuit as compensation.

I went to the hospital to try to get an x ray, but x ray had closed by the time I’d waited four hours to see someone. The next day I was hobbling and went back to x-ray, but was then expected to wait another four hours for the result, and they would not disclose whether they were concerned or not by phone. I asked them if they would write to me if it was anything worrying, and as I never heard back, I assume it wasn’t. However, it’s by far the worst knee injury I’ve had in my life. It was keeping me awake at night and I do not like taking strong painkillers for any more than a couple of days at a time.

While researching Neurofeedback a while ago (which I trained in, but do not provide due to the high cost to users), I stumbled across PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields). Having looked into the science behind PEMF, I was convinced that it would be helpful to accelerate my healing, whether I’d injured cartiledge or worse. PEMF works by increasing blood flow to the area being treated and increasing mitochondrial function. After doing my research, I opted for an inexpensive headband version, called Neorhythm, by a company called Omnipemf based in Slovenia.

Neorhythm promotional video

Having received my Neorhythm, I was curious to try it out for the other applications advertised on its website, and by my favourite neurohacking YouTuber, neuropsychiatrist Dr Cody Rall.

When I applied Neorhythm to my knee, it felt like a warm hug. I felt my knee almost crackling with healing. Every time I used it, it felt better, until a couple of weeks later when I no longer needed it at all, and my limp disappeared. I was able to do a very steep part of the South West Coastal Path, to my delight.

But that is not all… Neorhythm also influences brainwaves. While neurofeedback trains your brain by teaching it to respond to stimuli, Neorhythm influences your brainwaves using electromagnetic pulses.

Neorhythm promises to get anyone to sleep within 20 minutes. So I was dying to try this particular aspect out – and it works! Not only this but I stayed asleep all night, and woke up feeling a million dollars.

There’s also a lucid dreaming function, which I absolutely love for first thing in the morning.

Additionally, it’s possible to set your own programmes using the Neorhythm app – so I use 1Hz for 8 hours, which gives me very restful sleep all night long.

Some information on how we’re influenced by different frequencies, explained by Dr Cody Rall.

A few months later, Omnipemf released a Neorhythm pad, which I have taken into clinic many times to sit anxious clients on during their sessions.

In September 2023, Omnipemf is starting large-scale research on the use of Neorhythm for the Vagus Nerve.

I frequently recommend Neorhythm as a fantastic follow up to the Safe and Sound Protocol – and as something that you can own for under £350. (This includes post-Brexit customs duty of nearly £50). You can also rent / rent to buy a Neorhythm PEMF mat or band from me – please email me for details.

Corporate FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Neuroplasticity SSP: Safe and Sound Protocol Uncategorized

Vagus nerve hacks to regulate your nervous system any time, anywhere.

One of the things I’m most frequently asked about is how to reduce anxiety using vagus nerve hacks.

If you can’t stretch to using the Safe and Sound Protocol, or just need to know how to keep calm and self regulate ahead of a stressful upcoming event, here are a few simple things you can try, almost anywhere:

vagus nerve hacks

Music – Find a recording of Mozart’s K448 – Sonata for two pianos and stop everything else. Sit in a chair and listen. This piece of music has been proven to reduce stress – and even the occurrence of seizures in kids with epilepsy!

Mozart’s sonata for two pianos K448

Breathing – Try breathing in through the nose to the count of 4, and out through the mouth to 8. Breathe from your belly rather than ribs!
Gargling – Try very vigorous gargling – to the point where tears start to form in your eyes. When you start getting tears, it means your vagus nerve is firing. Try and keep it up for a few seconds and then relax
Hum – this activates laryngeal muscles, which get signals directly from the superior and recurrent laryngeal branches of the vagus nerve. If done for long enough, this allows us to control our breath, slow down thoughts and enter deep relaxation
Chant – chanting “om” stimulates vagus activity to the digestive tract, and is said to improve digestion and inflammation levels in the body. Chanting “om” following stressful events is an excellent way to reduce stress levels
Laugh – laughter is extremely effective in improving mood and heart rate variability. This is because we use our diaphragms when we laugh – unless we are laughing nervously, in which laughter is shallow and comes from the ribs. Belly laughs are an easy vagus nerve workout! Personally, I have a couple of video clips that I can’t watch without crying with laughter – mainly Reeves and Mortimer sketches, and also something too inappropriate to discuss in this post, but it’s a scene from The Inbetweeners.
Socialising – socialising and connecting with others is SO important. Being solitary, lonely and disconnected from others severely affects our mood and health. Being around others helps us laugh more, which, as we’ve just established, helps us keep our vagus nerve regulated…
Yoga and Meditation – PROVEN to tone the vagus nerve and reduce stress. I was even discussing this with a respiratory doctor a few weeks ago. It is only your logical left brain telling you it doesn’t work!

All the above are excellent things to do WHILE doing or BEFORE the Safe and Sound Protocol, by the way.

When I take people through the SSP, I usually demonstrate a variety of movements and massages that you can use to self regulate. Some of these powerful somatic techniques are things I used to use to stay focussed and calm at school myself – I did not realise what I was doing at the time, but now I think I was incredibly self aware to know what my body needed.

If you want to dig a bit deeper and help reduce your anxiety permanently, please come and see me in clinic in West Sussex, or book a discovery call via Zoom, or attend one of my Remaining Regulated workshops.

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