QC: Why Your Nervous System Knows When The Doctor Does Not Care

We talk with pelvic health occupational therapist Karla Ehlers about why uncertainty can dysregulate the nervous system and make pelvic pain feel even harder. We share a clearer map of fight or flight, shutdown, and social safety so you can choose support that actually matches what your body needs. 
• noticing early signs of dysregulation and building functional awareness 
• understanding sympathetic activation, dorsovagal shutdown, and ventral vagal safety 
• choosing grounding tools when anxiety spikes and safe movement when you feel stuck 
• using co-regulation and group support to create nervous system safety 
• recognizing neuroception and how clinics, partners, and family cues affect pain 

Do you have more questions? Keep them coming. Send them in, and I'll bring you the expert answers. You can send them in by using the link in the top of the description of this podcast episode or by emailing contact at indobattery.com or visiting the Indobattery.com contact page.

Transcript

Quick Connect Show Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Life moves fast, and so should the answers to your biggest questions. Welcome to Endo Batteries Quick Connect, your direct line to expert insights. Short, powerful, and right to the point. You send in the questions, I bring in the experts, and in just five minutes, you get the knowledge you need. No long episodes, no extra time needed. And just remember, expert opinions shared here are for general information and not for personalized medical advice. Always consult your provider for your case-specific guidance. Got a question? Send it in, and let's quickly get you the answers. I'm your host, Alana, and it's time to connect.

Meet Pelvic Health Expert Carla

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Today I'm joined by Carla Ellers, a pelvic health occupational therapist and the founder of Ocupelvic Health and Wellness. Carla's work goes beyond just the physical side of pelvic health. She focuses deeply on the connection between the nervous system and the pelvic floor and how our everyday lives, stress, and routines shape how our bodies function and feel. She's helped thousands of individuals navigate things like pelvic pain, dysfunction, and disconnection from their bodies, all through a really holistic, compassionate lens. What I love about her approach is that it's not about the quick fixes, it's about meeting people where they're at and giving them tools that actually support real lasting changes. Please help me in welcoming Carla Ellers to the table.

When Uncertainty Dysregulates The Body

SPEAKER_00 1:27

I feel really unsettled when I don't know what's going to happen. I think that's where for a lot of us, like that's where that dysregulation comes from is just not knowing, right? And I think especially if you have, if you're neurodivergent, if you're ADHD, autism spectrum, there's a lot of times that the unknown is frightening. And it's it creates a lack of trust within our bodies in and of themselves. So knowing that there is a baseline, that there's something, there's that home base, right? Like there's that predictable place that you can lean on, I think has got to be helpful. I wish I had that in my excision surgery. I was literally like floundering in the wind, I felt like, because I had no idea, A, what I was doing. But B, I just didn't really know how to cope with my new reality post-excision. You know, for me, obviously I had my excision surgery, hysterectomy, and all of that. So hormones were off on top of that. So everything was just chaotic in my mind. And I think that the healing process was much harder because of that. And so I wish I would have had like that safe space going back to my journey. If someone is listening and realizing, hmm, this might be me, what's the first place that they can start?

Mapping Fight Or Flight And Shutdown

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Well, having that functional awareness for themselves and first just noticing when you are becoming dysregulated. And when we talk about the nervous system, a lot of people know fight or flight. That's that sympathetic nervous system, that's that upregulation, you're feeling anxious, stressed. But when we get to that tipping point, we're going down into overwhelm and hopelessness. And that's on the opposite end of this nervous system spectrum. And that is called dorsovagal state. And so we kind of need to understand that when we're up here and we're we're fight or flight, we're going on, we need something grounding to bring us down. But when we're in hopelessness and, you know, that part of depression, we need something to mobilize out of that, right? And so for both of these, um, there's a third piece to our nervous system.

Grounding Versus Mobilizing Out Of Lows

SPEAKER_01 3:43

It's called ventral vagal state. And that's where we use other people's nervous systems, that socialization piece. And that's why I love group training and support group. But for me, like group retraining, like truly using other people's nervous systems to help yourself. And so when we're when we're all the way up here, we need to be mindful that, okay, what are some, what are some grounding activities to help bring me down? And when we are down here, when we're feeling helpless and in that depression, what are some safe movements to bring you out of that? And how can you incorporate the socialization? Because

Co-Regulation, Neuroception, And Social Safety

SPEAKER_01 4:22

there's another term it's called co-regulation, and that's when our nervous systems are speaking with each other. And so even right now, between us, you know, through eye contact and through having nice facial expressions, these are all really soothing for our nervous system. Because I don't know if if you've noticed, if you've walked into a doctor's office and the front desk lady or even the doctor just comes in and you know, they you can tell they don't give a crap. And your nervous system feels that, right? That is co-regulation. You can feel that. And because there's another term, it's called neuroception. Our body is always scanning, always scanning for safety. Always. And so when we do have that that soft eye contact, that those nice facial gestures, that is telling our nervous system that this is safe. And so this is really important to understand with your spouse, your partner, family members, and and and it's frustrating for women who do experience chronic pain and endometriosis. A lot of them feel like their families don't understand. And, you know, so so this is where that piece of co-regulation is really important. And if you don't have that within your family or your relationship, that's why my group is important. That's why other groups are important, right? So you can find that validation, that nervous system safety with other people, because nervous system healing cannot happen alone. That's one of the foundational pieces of foundate of nervous system healing, is it cannot happen alone. We have to have another nervous system to help us to co-regulate. And that's where some of this, when chronic pain can be exacerbated through stress, when you do have maybe a fight with your spouse, if we don't understand that those two nervous systems are communicating together, um, then that's going to further cause that dis that cycle, that dysregulation.

Closing Thoughts And Send Questions

SPEAKER_00 6:19

That's a wrap for this quick connect. I hope today's insights helped you move forward with more clarity and confidence. Do you have more questions? Keep them coming. Send them in, and I'll bring you the expert answers. You can send them in by using the link in the top of the description of this podcast episode or by emailing contact at indobattery.com or visiting the Indobattery.com contact page. Until next time, keep feeling empowered through knowledge.