Health & Wellbeing — Rejuvenating The Nervous System and Reconnecting With Life. November's Open Thread. By A Midwestern Doctor (11/30/25)

midwesterndoctor.com/p/…

Tips for improving the nervous system, with special focus on flashing visuals in children’s programming and other social media. Many solutions provided, along with an open forum for questions. Be sure to read the questions and answers in the comments, for insights and information.

ED NOTE
We offered our own thoughts at the comment linked here: tinyurl.com/mranau9r

Contents

• Addictive Programming

• Living Through Dopamine

• Reconnecting With Life

  • Pacing the Nervous System

  • Abdominal Breathing

  • Walking and Gentle Movement

  • Immersion in Nature

  • Epsom Salt Baths

  • Somatic Therapy: Massage and Bodywork

  • Feeling vs. Thinking

• Conclusion

Excerpt from AMD’s Conclusion

Our nervous system is one of the most precious resources we have, particularly in this society, where highly functioning cognition is essential within so many aspects of the economy—yet simultaneously, our nerves are constantly under attack from an unprecedented number of directions, robbing both our health and the immense joy we can experience from simply being alive (rather than feel empty and continually searching for strong stimuli which can give us a brief sense of being alive). — A Midwestern Doctor (AMD)

Summary (Grok ai, edited; images from article)

AMD discusses the addictive nature of modern children's programming, its links to behavioral issues, societal dopamine dependency, and strategies for restoring nervous system health, while opening a forum for reader questions.

Addictive Programming

ED NOTE 
What applies to children also applies to adults. We all must wean ourselves (QUICKLY!) from flashing quick-cut media and dopamine hits from endless scrolling and participation on X, Facebook, Instagram, AI, etc.

If we (or our kids) have temper tantrums as we remove addictive screens from our lives, it's a small and likely temporary price to pay for calmer more sane lives and better critical thinking.

• Many parents describe modern children's content, especially YouTube videos such as CoComelon, as addictive, leading to tantrums when removed.

• 2025 Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. parents found 22% report full-on tantrums from excessive screen time, with 27% noting irritability and 24% mood swings.

• 2025 Common Sense Media Census indicates 25% of parents use screens to calm upset children, and 17% report children using mobile devices for self-calming.

• Reddit searches for terms like "Cocomelon tantrum" yield thousands of threads from the last 5 years describing explosive reactions after viewing.

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) acknowledges high-engagement media leads to tantrums due to behavioral reinforcement.

Research links fast-paced content to ADHD-like symptoms:

• Modern shows use rapid cuts (1–4 seconds), which overstimulates developing brains.

• 2011 study showed 4-year-olds exposed to fast-paced SpongeBob had deficits in executive function lasting up to 4 hours.

• 2004 study of 1,278 kids linked over 2 hours of TV before age 3 to attention problems by age 7.

• 2018 review correlated early fast-paced exposure with attentional deficits.

• 2023 study linked higher toddler screen time to increased anger/ frustration, with each extra hour raising risk by 13%.

CoComelon uses rapid changes to maximize watch time on YouTube, exploiting toddlers' short attention spans, orienting responses, and auto-play features.

Classic shows like Mister Rogers used long takes for developmental appropriateness.

Implications include:

• Screens designed for addiction, with tech executives regretting impacts and banning screens for their own children.

  ED NOTE
  If tech executives regret these impacts so much, they should speak out and STOP producing and promoting screens — even when it affects their bottom lines. They’re harming people, for heaven’s sake!

• Screen use parallels historical vaccine-related neurological issues that lead to ADHD being treated with stimulants.

• Resource-strapped parents often use screens to counteract behavioral disturbances in children, even though this use leads to more behavioral disturbances.

• Economic exploitation has shifted from slavery to attention harvesting and data collection.

Living Through Dopamine

Fatigued nervous systems prefer strong stimuli over subtleties. The economic system promotes consumption via emotional marketing, creating expectations of future gratification and misery without it. This shifts reality from smooth flow to disconnected dopamine spikes, influenced by nervous system state.

Evidence includes:

• Sensitivity to body changes from technology, inducing dopamine spikes and crashes.

• Sugar withdrawal revealing microbiome-driven addiction and rejection of deficient foods.

• 2010 book by David Kessler on engineered addictive foods.

• 1980s Big Tobacco buyout of processed food industry designed to enhance addictiveness.

• 2017 book by Robert Lustig on dopamine vs. serotonin circuits, showed electronic usage priming junk food cravings.

Reconnecting With Life Extricating from dopamine traps is challenging due to societal design and nervous system depletion. Restoring nervous system health diminishes pull toward artificial stimulation.

Pacing the Nervous System Nervous system has resiliency but drops when overstrained; stopping at limits aids recovery.

📌 Avoid draining stimuli like blue light, EMFs, fluorescent lights, and certain media.

Abdominal Breathing

📌 Slow deep abdominal breathing promotes parasympathetic tone, connecting to the body and relaxing the nervous system. Practice overcomes initial discomfort from chronic dysregulation. (See Related links below for breathing resources.)

Walking and Gentle Movement

📌 Walking circulates fluid without strain, enhances longevity. Benefits increase by:

• Avoiding distractions.

• Feeling the body.

• Maintaining connected pace.

• Setting reasonable daily goals.

Walking reduces depression and anxiety; nature walks have similar effects. Other practices like connected sexual intercourse, Yoga, or Tai Chi can soothe when done gently and consistently.

Immersion in Nature Natural environments regulate the nervous system, reducing cortisol and shifting to parasympathetic activity. Factors include negative ions improving zeta potential.

Epsom Salt Baths

📌 Hot baths with magnesium sulfate restore functionality; therapeutic waters like hot springs are effective but less accessible. Aids sleep.

Somatic Therapy: Massage and Bodywork

📌 Bodywork relaxes you when circulation is obstructed; find the best matching modalities for your own restorative relaxation. DMSO enhances effects.

Feeling vs. Thinking

📌 Excessive thinking reinforces discomfort; prioritize feeling the body to relax. Engage situations in relaxed ways for better outcomes.

Related:

• Breath by James Nestor + Buteyko Method breathing exercises + Mouth Taping for sleep… tinyurl.com/mw6vz24b

• Resources > Health: tinyurl.com/wbw9376k