How to Calm a Highly Sensitive Nervous System 

I've been on high alert since i was 5 years old. The pain I'm in is in the mind. I'm 52 now, that's a long time! People especially parents underestimate the damage neglect and abuse can cause. It's lifelong.

“When you make living your life more important than fixing your problems.” I needed this, thank you!!

I can absolutely confirm that the most effective way of getting your nervous system back to a regulated state is to shift your focus and concentrate on anything that feels good. I know how it sounds but I've been there, too. And back then it was so awful, I thought I would never feel normal again, that this would be my new reality. But there was still a little voice in my head absolutely refusing to let that happen and to let something that I knew was just reacting to my own mindf*ck dictate my life. So I started with babysteps(!). Like watching extremely soothing clips before going to bed (I can just name things that worked for me but maybe someone finds it helful) like people riding night trains and filming their experiences, while using music und subtitles instead of words. That was my first step. Another one was dedicating a lot of time to meditation, espcieally guided meditation with the theme of reducing anxiety and negative thoughts. I started making little tiny workouts, specialized ones for soothing the nervous system. So partially I focused on my nervous system but with the intention to let it know that everything is okay. The anxiety attacks that period of time were massive so babysteps it werre but little by little it got better and that was pure motivation. To some these methods might sound ridiculous but I actively decided to not let my life be dictated by fear and found my own tools te get out of that horrible cycle. So I guess the first and most crucial step for anyone is to make that choice not to let anything dictate how you feel and how you live your life. Especially not soemthing that is learned behavior and can be transfromed. I wish everyone, if you raed all this (wohoo xD), all the love and energy to heal, to transform and to make that choice for yourself! Blessings

I am an overthinker and it leads to anxiety. This was helpful.

I don’t watch news, too much us and them, the elites keep us fighting….I work in my landscape, i bought a bench slider….I sit in the morning and again at night, just sitting and listening, watching hummingbirds, bees and butterflies come feed on all the flowers i planted for them….and toss the ball for my dog, it is so good for me.

Weightlifting and fueling my body with a high-protein diet cured all my anxiety. Physically, I’m desensitized to a lot of stimuli that would have previously been overwhelming. Constantly putting my body into a state of muscle failure makes many things feel dull in comparison. Mentally, I know I look fit and there’s nothing that feels better than a post-workout pump, so my confidence has skyrocketed. For the most part, any social anxiety that I previously dealt with has faded away. A lot of people tell you to go to the gym and eat right, but actually doing it can have a drastic affect on your quality of life.

I'm stuck in this hyper sensitized state for several years now. This has been the toughest phase in my life and I'm trying my best to get out of it. I'm hopeful that I'll find a good solution.

The combination of physical exercise and not catastrophizIng or constantly analyzing my pain, is what put me into about 80% remission from it.

I subscribed the moment you said it is not positive thinking its knowledge.

I have suffered with PTSD and depression all my life. At 56 years old I am agoraphobic and my fears have multiplied. After devastating loss in November 2022 , I have manifested this grief into health anxiety, which in turn, has made world smaller. I feel like I'm stuck in malicious vortex that I will never escape. Thank you for imparting your knowledge and compassion for the debilitating power our minds have over our physical well being.

Happy Sunday to everyone😀...and remember: this too shall pass

"The only stress free existence is death." Love it! Thank you.

Dude I am 23 years old and have been living in a lot of pain. I don’t want to share my story bc internet. But thank you this video added so much clarity to my life

The only stress-free life is Dead! Lol. Everything you have said has been helpful..but without a doubt self-soothing has been most beneficial for me. After 30 years of clenching myself in tension..that first day I realized..I had to remind myself every five minutes to relax and breathe..and I found a little 10 minute meditation that I would Do every time I couldn’t to it on my own. I thought I may be having to be Doing this for a month to Re-Train my brain..BUT surprisingly..it only been a little over a week and I have to Do this less and less. Your brain Can Learn a NEW Habit as rapidly as it learned the OLD habits! I am so happy..My terrible insomnia is Gone! And everything is Better. The most important thing for me..is “Radical Acceptance and Maintaining a state of Peace.” And not just about my pain but life in general. This is truly the way to live! Be accountable for everything you Can and Do not fuss over those you cannot. I think they do this in AA! Anyway..so helpful. Thank You..Dan.

Guided relaxation & daily meditation has changed my life. Learning to take a pause, breathe & remain more in a present state.

Thank you for making this video! I wanted to add that I can't stress enough the importance of cutting out caffeine. I was a caffeine (diet soda/coffee/energy drink) addict for 20 years and I wrecked my nervous system. I developed chronic pain because my nerves were damaged. I was told I have fibromyalgia or pinched nerves that were causing my chronic pain, all the doctors i saw were wrong. I endured so many treatments, medications and saw so many specialists and not one ever asked how much caffeine I consumed! I have been off caffeine for about 2-3 months now my pain is finally starting to subside!

Why tf nobody told me this before? You're such a life saviour.

I have been dealing with anxiety on and off for 5 yrs, with health anxiety on top of that, I thought I was going crazy. Sensations everywhere! Hypervigilance is now present, but I am finally learning how to deal with it, without adding: OMG, what is happening! which has lead me to panic in the past. Thank you for this video. Well explained. Dr Claire Weekes explained everything really well in her book Hope and Help for Your Nerves. I highly recommend it for anyone suffering with Hypervigilance, Anxiety and Panic.

Yes!! My goal is not to lead a stress free life but to life a life where I can handle the stressors of daily living better… I know exactly how I got here… not to get myself out! Thanks Dan

I do things to hijack my nervous system. My father is not here to abuse me anymore so I do it to myself and it makes my symptoms work. Listening to this is calming. I’m also going to get a weighted blanket.

Love your breathings in the beginning, such a good start of the day by breathing in the confidence and breathing out the fear.x

Very wise words man I’m sitting here jumping on my chair it’s like I’m tripping and my body is sore all over 😢thank u any way bless man

Soothing, what a great word. Say it to yourself throughout the day.

To heart that I'm not alone in this is very helpful and calming, thank you for your words ❤

I am truly appreciating all of you videos and knowledge. Thank you for you help.

Thank you Dan. So true. Moving on has helped me tremendously. It's also allowed emotions to come up without me trying. They float up & I'm able to acknowledge them. I know I'm safe.👍❤

I watching this kind of content/vlog without jump-cut but keeps you listening, so refreshing and calm.

Thanks for encouragement. May all be well.

I'm always enthralled at the adversity of nature! Listen,watch,learn & breathe! The Rage & devastation of a forest fire for example but nature never gives up! The earth will smoulder,the smoke will rise to nothing & a few days later the most wonderful small green shoots of resilience break through to start afresh.We will have days like these but take a lesson from mother nature & embrace it.Take Strength from Calm.Just a thought to indulge 🙏⛅☀️.

I'm going to take note what you said and try not to think about any symptoms, because one, we're not robots and not going to work right all the time and worrying about it won't change the outcome, apart from extra worry and stress. Easy said than done of course!

Like you said put your focus 🧘‍♂️ on living your life, and the nervous system will go back in place, is absolutely right. Thanks for the good information

Mine got sensitised by a panic attack during a bad trip (too much THC not enough CBD). So now the underlying anxiety over my health/ hypochondria that's always been there, is crossing that threshold and leading to panic responses. Whereas before it would have just been low level stress. So it's forcing to me to solve this problem which I previously was just ignoring. I'm getting to the core of my irrational thought cycles, and in the spaces between panic attacks I'm actually mentally more healthy than I've ever been. So now the challenge is to desensitise my nervous system, but maintain the healthy ways of thinking with this new knowledge that I never would have gained if not for this negative event.

This video gave me some simple knowledge that pulled me out of a constant state of stress and put me into a defined state of self confidence. It's simple and I'm in a much better world now. Thank you so much for posting.

I know this video is from a while back but it is such a great video! And I love how you emphasize that it's not the same as positive thinking but has to do with accurate knowledge. Thank you thank you!

Oh my goodness thank you for your kindness and wisdom I feel seen and connected ❤ wishing everyone a lovely weekend

Thank you so much sending you endless light and love for this.

I need this soooo much! So hard. Thank you Dan❣️

Thank you, Dan. I just found your channel. I have been living in chronic pain for 3 years now as a result of an extremely painful acute disease. The disease went away but the pain stayed. I'm learning to take myself out of the hypersensitive state but it is a constant effort. Thank you for your videos on this topic, they have helped me today.

Wow! This video was recommended for me and this is what I have been going through all summer. So crazy. Thanks for this video.

I appreciate your demeanor and info very much.

wow, breath in confidence and courage and exhale fear, That's so amazing.... I have never heard that....... I will breath like that from now on...

I love your energy, I need this profile more than ever right now

How did I miss this one?! It’s my new favorite.

Thank you for your kind, calm words. I appreciate hearing this today. I deal with anxiety and depression and I need to practice your technique. I need to calm myself and accept. I love you for your knowledge. Thank you.

your sharing is amazing and it did actually work like a charm for me. i have suffered a lot but now with your advice of 'doing the opposite', i can finally let go of that pains used to attach to me

Medition , diet and excercise works well for me. Sleep is essential. Learn to meditate. Hour or 2hours a day if you can

Beautiful, thanks for this. It felt like you where talking to my nervous center directly, just letting it know what it's actually been doing this whole time. Thanks for that!

Excellent, thanks Dan 👍

Dan is the man. We love you in our fb group. Ty for these videos !!!

Keep doing videos please like this... I wont get tired of listening and watching. My first time to watch but its not just helpful, but life changing. Thank you much for sharing. New supporter here from Philippines

Thank you, i thinking of my symtom all the time every day for the last 5 years. I needed to hear this.

Thank you for your wisdom 🙏🏻

Thank you! This happened to me with long covid. I really appreciate this info. I have figured it out and you are just validating what I it took me years to discover. I look forward to more from your Channel and I am subscribing.

thank you for making such a calming video. i couldn’t sleep all night because of my body & brain being on high alert. i’m trying to relearn how to relax and hearing this from you helps more than you know.

Just found your channel and I'm so glad that I have. I'm currently very close to burnout with too many overwhelming things going on. Bereaved, stressed at day job, very ill elderly parent, not sleeping, fibromyalgia etc etc and know that I definitely have a highly sensitive nervous system.

Thank you Sir.God bless you.Stay blessed.

Great advice. Thank you 🙏

I have tinnitus and I am hyper aware. I need to listen to him.

Wow! You have simplified this in an amazing way. Just do the opposite of what got me to this state that I’m in. Happiness, joy, peace and calm. Thank you!!! ❤️

Thank you for your wisdom

In found this really helpful and can actually remember thinking ‘oh! These are like the symptoms I had before my back surgery!’ No wonder I am on high alert! I’m linking these sensations to a ten hour surgery that put me in ICU! 😱 I love the idea of soothing and gently moving past this fear.

Very, very wise words, thanks so much for this 🙏🏻

Just what I needed to hear. Thankyou🙌

Thanks for the wise words and practical help. From my heart, thank you.

Love these videos - I have been away from self-care for too long. As my pain now increases my body calls me back to self-care. Choice is always mine! A inner voice of pain calls me to look within and pause - what happened was an increase of stress and the sudden diagnosis of cancer for my little granddaughter. Therefore, more pain. Dans videos earlier this year has supported me to get out of pain and heal a knee that just stopped functioning fully. Thank you Dan for your brilliance and passion.

Hello Dan. I have been through serious abuse. And have lost everything. My mind is damaged from years of narcissistic abuse. My ability to think is shot. Some seriously bad people messed me up. Ones light attracts them like moths. Today has been a bad day. I even hiked 5-6 miles on a trail.

..aww, just found your channel from my home page recommendations...what a lovely, kind, empathic man you are! My anxiety says 'thank you' 🌻

Brilliant advice

Great message~! I've been focusing more on accurate information rather than over-analyzing the problem or pain. Shifting focus doesn't mean denial or avoidance, rather, we can shift the resources of our attention and focus energies on a gathering mindset instead of micro-managing fight/flight responses.Even if I'm freaking out a bit, I'm. now trying to ask myself, "is this accurate?" I like Dan's focus on observing accurate info. For me, stepping back a bit and gathering helps me realize that I probably don't have data yet to freak out. That's actually one of the slogans I use for myself to ca my system: "I don't have enough data yet to freak out.".

So so true , I’ve been living with those symptoms for over 2 years now and it makes so much sense . Thank you for that .

I have been like this for over 20 years and now I getting help with it.

What is TMS. I just came across your RU-vid video. I deeply needed this. Thank you

This video got recommended to be when I was struggling with nervous system sensitivity. It’s a very hard problem to explain but your video helped me so much, I’ve always thought I’d just have to deal with it even when I was very young, but in reality it’s just the way i’ve been choosing how to cope with sensitivity. Thank you for making this video, I really needed it.

This is so right Dan. In the past with the many things I’ve had but didn’t know then they were TMS manifestations the way out of it was always when I took the focus off the problem and believed I was ok. Usually I’d do something or take something like a supplement that I believed was helping but it was the mind relaxing and letting go that healed. Your videos are so helpful as the message sinks in bit by bit! ❤️😊

Great advice. Thank you.

Hey Dan, Thx for everything, now i’m focusing to love my symptoms and body !

I just came across your channel & thank you so much for this video! My highly sensitive nervous system has given me ibs, overactive bladder & a constant nasal drip! Also,i have contamination OCD, which takes alot of my time everyday!

Bless you! Taking attention of off the seeming problems is the best solution for sure! I was trying it myself recently and it worked but then I got scared again about what if it isn't working after all :D I am however pretty sure it was all working alright sill yet it does help to hear another person saying to do that! Thanks, it means a lot!

Thank you again and again!!🙏🏻

Thank you for your calming wise voice 😌😌

OMG, so glad this came up this am on my feed!! Had a TMS attack a few days ago ....practiced Dr. Sarno 12 daily reminders, 2 days, gone. YOU are my Affirmation in this! God bless you! At 70, off this am to play racquetball!!

Ιm very hypervigilant emotionally and physically but the irony is, I have a high pain threshold. Often something's wrong and I can't tell until it gets really bad. Part of this is being stuck in a place of '''freeze'' and dissociating, but when I intentionally cause pain to myself [like during a workout, or getting a tattoo] I also don't feel pain as much as others.

your voice literally calmed me down.

This really helped me - thank you. I needed a change of perspective.

I like what you said “we have to do the opposite to turn it down. “ we got sensitized a certain way but we can reverse it. When I read the Sarno books I got the impression if I just believed my pain would vanish quickly. But it takes a certain kind of work for me. Soothing myself, Understanding that I’m not injured or sick. Keeping a positive attitude and really avoiding stressful situations when I can. I know I don’t live in a bubble but I don’t have to court trouble. So thanks again Dan for encouraging us out there that we can put this stressed out nervous system in chill mode. 🧘‍♂️😇

I had Covid and two days after being diagnosed my grandfather died. I really feel like a lot of my “long haul” symptoms are stemming from suppressed emotions. These videos are invaluable to me and I will keep watching so I can find a way to move forward .

Thank you!

Thank you for sharing!! God Bless you

Love your videos. Having a flare up after years of 98% pain free. This recent flare up is due to the loss of my mother and fleeing and remembering the past. Probably resisting the feeling. On the nervous system. I literally talk to mine, I thanks it and tell , everything is ok, no need for the pain and I love you body. Seems to work for me, can take a day or two though.

Oh god I needed this today. Thanks so much. I know that I’m creating my experience by giving negative thoughts. I have health anxiety. I always am afraid I’m going to die but I do have chronic pain. My nervous system does make it worse. Stress makes my chronic pain worse and sabotogizing myself makes my pain worse. I drank and I lapsed after 4 months of not drinking. I’ve gone 7 months. I’m trying to quit. The fears end up leading me to that path, so to quit drinking, I really do need to heal and train my nervous system. Cause I worry I’m going to get sick and die and that fuels my behavior

This is a very directed video on true problems. I have lived it for many years .

Thanku Dan I'm watching now ! ❤

Had a really bad anxiety attack yesterday and could not relax for a couple of hours. Sometimes I'm scared of stressing so much that it will effect my health in the long run. Mostly occur in social situations and I don't know why it triggers so frequently or how to stop it. Biggest up hill climb I've ever endured.

Hey there! I'm a big fan of Dr Sarno's work, and you're doing a great job sharing his message. This video caught my eye because I study adult ADHD and adult Autism. It's thought that the neurodivergent mind has a more hyper-alert CNS, although I do question if that's the truth or if the hyper alertness is learned. Possibly it's both? Either way, I've wondered if many of the challenges people with ADHD and ASD have are also related to TMS.

I’m so glad this came up ❤❤❤

That was really really great thank you so much.

7:30 Learn to soothe because it feels good (instead of highlighting the problem which we are soothing for!)

This is amazing! Would you approach this the same way with chronic fatigue syndrome?

Your voice conveys more than words can…

this video is very soothing