Human health is a highly complex topic.

This is why many people become frustrated with the traditional system of medicine.

Many times, “regular” doctors believe that the best way to manage symptoms is with medication, rather than addressing the root causes. And that’s why the pharmaceutical industry has become what it has.

I wish that symptoms could just be fixed with a pill. It would make things way easier.

Of course, this is where functional medicine comes in. We always try and address root causes.

Which is why I want to talk about your limbic system.

No, this has nothing to do with roller skates and a pole that gets lower and lower…that’s the limbo system…

The limbic system is a part of your brain that plays a big role in how you feel and respond to the world around you.

So let me show you how interferences with your limbic system can wreak havoc on your health.

How Does The Limbic System Work

The limbic system is sometimes referred to as the “emotional brain” because it plays a crucial role in processing emotions such as fear, joy, sadness, and anger.

Of course, it does more than that.

The basic function of the limbic system is to regulate your memory, behavior, motivation, and even basic survival responses like hunger, sleep, and sex drive.

The emotions that bubble up as a result of the limbic system’s work are meant to help push you in directions you’re supposed to go.

In other words, the emotion of fear might compel you to run away from a dangerous situation. If all you had were signals that didn’t attach to emotions, you may end up getting hurt or dying.

The limbic is made up of key parts of the brain, including the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and thalamus.

They will work together to help process signal inputs from your environment (such as watching your dog run after a squirrel) and then create a cascading series of outputs to get you to grip the leash more tightly so your dog doesn’t run through traffic.

Arguably, one of the most important things the limbic system does is help your body react to stress.

What it does is work to regulate your autonomic nervous system, which has two branches: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.

The sympathetic nervous system is like your internal alarm system. One way to remember the difference is that the sympathetic system is the system that “sympathizes” with your trouble and kicks in when you sense danger.

You know this to be your “fight or flight” response.

When the sympathetic system is at work, it speeds up your heart rate, tightens your muscles, and tells your body to prepare for a threat.

On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system helps you rest and recover. It’s often called “rest and digest.” It slows your heart rate, relaxes your muscles, and helps you feel calm and safe. You can think of the word prefix of “para” as “paralyzed, or “relaxed.”

The problem is that sometimes the limbic system gets stuck in “fight or flight.”

This can happen if someone has gone through trauma, chronic stress, illness, or even certain infections. When this happens, the brain thinks the body is in danger—even when it’s not. The amygdala, which plays a big role in detecting threats, becomes overactive.

This keeps the body in a constant state of alert, which wears it down over time.

The Problem with a “Wonky“ Limbic System

When your limbic system stays stuck in “fight or flight,” your body starts to act like it’s in danger all the time, even if there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Many of you can probably identify with this kind of feeling.

When you’re in a constant state of stress, your body is constantly sending signals through your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a pathway between your brain and adrenal glands that controls your stress hormones, especially cortisol

Cortisol is helpful in short bursts, but when it’s elevated for too long, it starts to wear the body down… This is sometimes referred to as adrenal fatigue.

High cortisol levels can disrupt sleep, as they keep your brain alert when it should be winding down.

It also raises blood pressure and heart rate, which, over time, can put stress on the cardiovascular system, as well as leading to issues such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), bloating, or nausea.

Another issue with high cortisol levels is that they can eventually weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off infections or recover from illnesses.

What happens is your body gets so used to reacting to “threats” that it becomes overly sensitive—even to things that are harmless. This is one of the primary factors at play in the vast majority of autoimmune issues people encounter, where the immune system begins to attack the body’s own tissues. 

And of course, our hormones can also get wrecked by this.

From thyroid, hormones, to testosterone and estrogen, even insulin can get thrown off.

The results are less than desirable and would include fatigue, low libido, weight gain, and even mood swings.

On top of that, stress lowers the brain’s ability to filter pain signals properly, so small aches can feel much worse—this is one reason why conditions like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome often show up when the limbic system is overactive. 

Emotionally, people may feel stuck in a loop of anxiety, irritability, or even panic. You might feel like your mind can’t shut off or that you’re “wired and tired” at the same time, completely exhausted but unable to relax.

This state can last for months or years unless the brain is taught how to shift back into balance.

You Can Improve Limbic Health

The good news is that you can help train your limbic system to move out of the fight-or-flight response and back into a more balanced state.

It’s not achieved with a pill or a prescription, and it does require time and consistency, but it’s very possible.

Practices such as deep breathing, mindfulness, vagus nerve stimulation, and meditation help activate the parasympathetic nervous system and calm the mind.

Another helpful approach is limbic system retraining, which includes programs like the Gupta Program or DNRS (Dynamic Neural Retraining System). These programs use visualizations, movement, and repetition to help “re-wire” the brain and teach it to feel safe again.

Other tools, such as EMDR therapy (which I wrote about here), somatic experiencing, and cold exposure with breathwork (like the Wim Hof Method), also show promise.

And don’t forget the basics: getting regular sleep, eating nourishing foods, and spending time in nature all help signal to your limbic system that you’re safe.

Your brain wants to protect you, but sometimes it needs help learning that the danger has passed.

When you work with the limbic system instead of ignoring it, healing becomes possible not just in the mind, but throughout the whole body.