Is Motivation Key in Healing Nervous System and Functional Disorders?

What if part of recovery isn’t just about calming the system — but inspiring it?

When we think about recovery from nervous system disorders or functional neurological conditions, we often focus on calming down — reducing stress, easing symptoms, and quieting the noise. But what if that’s only part of the picture? What if recovery also means inspiring the nervous system, gently encouraging it to reconnect with positive emotions, motivation, and purpose?

In this post, we’ll explore how those feelings might just be the missing piece for healing and why finding what moves us — even a little — can shift our physiology and change everything.

Photo by Brayden Prato on Unsplash

Is Motivation the Key to Recovery

Let’s talk about motivation — or the lack of it. Not in a fluffy, “just get up and go!” kind of way. But the real, gritty, frustrating experience of not feeling moved by things that seem to excite everyone else.

For people living with nervous system dysfunction — like Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), chronic fatigue, or other stress-related conditions — this lack of motivation isn’t just a mood thing. It’s part of the illness.

Not Everyone Gets Lit Up by the Same Stuff

Some people feel energised by small things: a coffee date, a new to-do list app, a workout plan, a sunny day.

Others… don’t.

Not because they’re lazy. Not because they’re broken. But because surface-level stuff just doesn’t cut it.

Some of us need more. More depth. More meaning. More purpose. Something real — not just busy.

"The Extent of Our Motivation Can Change Our Physiology"

That quote isn’t mine — it’s from someone called Gavin Mogan, who lives with Parkinson’s and posts powerful, thoughtful reflections on X.

He wrote:

I read that and thought: yes. Exactly.

This applies far beyond Parkinson’s. People with FND, chronic fatigue, autism, ADHD — anyone with a nervous system that functions differently — we need this too.

We need to be moved. Because when we are, something shifts in the body. The physiology follows the emotion.

Gavin also says in his clip: “When mind and body are aligned for something bigger than myself, it moves me.”

That really stuck with me — it speaks to the power of purpose.

When we’re driven by something meaningful, something bigger than ourselves, it doesn’t just feel good — it moves us. And when we’re moved, our nervous system responds.

It starts to shift. To open. To trust.

That sense of purpose can be the thing that changes how our body reacts to the world. It’s not just emotional — it’s physiological. We need to learn from other conditions that affect the nervous system. People like Gavin are making the connections, doing the hard work, showing us what’s possible.

Insights like this aren’t just inspiring — they’re applicable. We need to take hold of them and put them to use.

So What If Motivation Is the Missing Link?

What if part of recovery isn’t just about calming the system — but inspiring it?

We always talk about rest, regulation, reducing stress — and yes, those things are essential. But what about the flip side?

What about fire?

What about the thing that stirs you, even if just a little?

It’s Not Just About Calming Down — It’s About Lighting Up

In my own experience, that shift — from just calming to also inspiring — has been a game changer.

For those who follow my posts, you’ll know that for me, that spark — that joy, that motivation — came in the shape of surfing.

I found that the more I connected with something inspiring — something fun, enjoyable, something that genuinely motivated me — the more my nervous system began to respond differently.

My nervous system started to learn that movement wasn’t a threat — it could actually be fun! Rewarding! Exciting! Energising!

It began to associate movement with positive hormones and emotions — not fear or danger, but joy, achievement, and even freedom.

Improving my health hasn’t just been about avoiding stress; it’s been about creating new, positive associations. I’m retraining my biology — changing my physiology — not only by calming, but by showing my nervous system that certain things feel good. That they’re not just tolerable, but enjoyable. Life-enhancing, even.

Inspiration, joy, connection — these aren’t optional extras. They’re part of the healing. They’re the new message we’re sending to a nervous system stuck in a stress loop, reminding it how to feel safe again — by connecting with something deeper, something life-affirming.

But Here’s the Hard Part

When motivation is flat, people say: “Find your passion!” “Do what excites you!”

But what if nothing does?

That’s where it gets hard. Because it’s not always about finding what excites you — it’s about reconnecting to the capacity to feel excitement at all.

That’s the real work.

So Where Do We Begin?

It’s tricky — and honestly, something I still struggle with. But I’ve noticed that when I do something that breaks the monotony — something that excites me, holds my focus, or gives me a sense of purpose — that’s when things start to shift.

What works for me might not work for you, but the key is finding what moves you.

I’ve also found that involving others can help. Meeting up with a friend, making a plan to surf — these things create connection and accountability. They give you a reason to show up.

And that matters. Because connection calms the system.

Another thing that’s helped me is setting goals.

Give yourself something meaningful to work towards.

When I was at my worst, that goal might have been something simple, like: I’ll connect with a friend this week.

As my health improved, I realised I needed more than just routine — I needed motivation. People might say, “Go for a walk,” but I’d think: Why? Walking just for the sake of exercise didn’t inspire me. Even before my health took a turn for the worse, I always needed an end goal — a purpose.

Tell me we’re climbing to the top of a mountain? I’m in. I’ve done plenty of walking in the past, but never just for the exercise — or even the fresh air. Those were added bonuses. What drove me was the why — the sense of direction, the challenge, the destination. Without that, it all felt hollow.

I needed a reason — and on reflection, I always have. Something that actually lit a spark. So it became: “On Wednesday, I’m going to the beach and getting in the water.” The end goal was to surf, and those tiny steps were all building towards that. Or, “I’m signing up for that course because I want to learn about the nervous system” — another small step with purpose behind it.

And here’s something that’s always stuck with me — in the documentary Touching the Void, there’s this moment where the climber, Joe Simpson, is literally dragging himself back to base camp with a broken leg. He’s crawling, dehydrated, half-dead. There’s no logical way he should’ve made it.

But he did — by setting tiny, achievable goals. He’d say to himself, “I’ll get to that rock in 20 minutes.” Then he’d do it again. And again. Those small milestones, one after the other, kept him going.

It’s the same principle.

Even if the bigger goal feels impossible from where you are now — set it anyway. Then break it down. Week by week. Day by day. Those tiny achievements build momentum. They give you something to aim for — a reason to keep showing up.

Because purpose motivates us. And motivation shifts things.

Final Thought

We don’t all come alive in the same way. And we shouldn’t feel guilty if what excites others doesn’t spark anything in us.

But we do need to feel moved — somehow, some way.

Because that might just be what changes everything.

References

1. Mogan, G. (@purposeful_pd). The extent of our motivation can change our physiology… X/Twitter Post

2. Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. APA PsycNet

3. Damasio, A. (1999). The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness. APA PsycNet

4. Van den Bergh, O., et al. (2017). Symptoms and the nervous system: the biopsychosocial perspective. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. ScienceDirect

5. Sterling, M., & Jull, G. (2017). The role of the nervous system in chronic pain and functional disorders. Manual Therapy, 22, 2–9. ScienceDirect