Are Your Symptoms a Disorder, or Are They Dysregulation?
If you’ve ever wrestled with a diagnosis like an eating disorder, chronic pain, anxiety, or depression, you’ve likely been told that you have a “disorder.” The word itself can feel heavy, even damning—like a stamp that says, “Something is wrong with you.” But what if that wasn’t the whole story?
This perspective might feel a little edgy, even unconventional, but it’s one I deeply believe: Many of the things we label as “issues” or “disorders” are actually the result of chronic nervous system dysregulation. It’s not that you’re broken or doomed—it’s that your nervous system has been stuck in overdrive, doing its best to keep you safe in the only ways it knows how.
This way of understanding symptoms is more than just a reframe. It’s a deeply empowering and nonjudgmental stance. If your symptoms are rooted in nervous system dysregulation, then they aren’t permanent. They aren’t a life sentence. They’re a call for support—and that’s something you can work with.
How Dysregulation Shapes Our Lives
The nervous system is the body’s command center, constantly working behind the scenes to keep you safe. When it’s regulated, you can adapt to stress and bounce back to a state of calm. But when it’s overwhelmed—whether from trauma, chronic stress, or unmet emotional needs—it can get stuck in patterns of hyperactivation (fight or flight) or shutdown (freeze).
These stuck patterns often show up as symptoms we interpret as “disorders”:
Eating Disorders: Behaviors like restriction, bingeing, or purging often arise as coping mechanisms to manage unbearable internal sensations or to create a sense of control.
Chronic Pain: An overworked nervous system can amplify pain signals, keeping the body in a constant state of tension.
Anxiety: Persistent worry and restlessness reflect a system that’s stuck in fight or flight mode, scanning for threats even when none exist.
Depression: Numbness, disconnection, and fatigue can signal a system that has entered a prolonged state of shutdown.
These symptoms aren’t random or signs of personal failure—they’re your body’s way of trying to protect you. It’s not that you’re broken; your system is simply overwhelmed and needs help finding its way back to balance.
Why This Perspective Is Empowering
Shifting from seeing your symptoms as a “disorder” to understanding them as “dysregulation” is liberating. Here’s why:
You’re Not Doomed: A diagnosis can feel like a life sentence, but nervous system dysregulation is not permanent. Your system is designed to heal and adapt with the right support.
You’re Not Broken: This perspective removes judgment. Your symptoms are not flaws—they’re survival responses. They’re proof of how hard your nervous system has worked to protect you, even when it feels like it’s working against you.
There’s Hope: If your symptoms are rooted in dysregulation, healing becomes about learning to support your nervous system—not fixing something broken or defective.
Supporting Your Nervous System
Healing doesn’t mean magically “fixing” yourself overnight. It’s a process of working with your body, gently teaching your nervous system how to feel safe again.
Here are some steps to get started:
Learn Your Triggers: Understanding what activates your nervous system is key. What situations, relationships, or memories make you feel unsafe or overwhelmed?
Practice Regulation: Simple tools like deep breathing, grounding exercises, or somatic practices can help signal to your system that it’s safe to relax.
Move With Intention: Physical movement can help discharge pent-up energy or gently reawaken a frozen system. Try yoga, stretching, or even shaking it out.
Build Safe Connections: Relationships with people who feel supportive and nonjudgmental can be deeply regulating for your system.
Seek Trauma-Informed Therapy: Therapies that focus on the body and nervous system, like somatic therapy, can help you process and release unresolved stress.
A Compassionate Lens for Healing
Taking this view doesn’t mean your pain or struggles aren’t real—they absolutely are. But it shifts the focus from pathology to possibility. You are not broken. You are human. And your nervous system, just like the rest of you, is capable of healing.
So, if you’ve ever felt trapped by a diagnosis or overwhelmed by your symptoms, know this: You’re not doomed. You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. Your nervous system just needs more support, and that’s something you can give it—one small, compassionate step at a time.
About the Author
Martha Carter is a licensed therapist providing virtual services in Colorado. She is trauma-informed and trained in somatic, neurobiology-based modalities to help people with all types of trauma, chronic pain, and eating disorders heal from the inside out.
(Colorado residents only)
