By not stressing the vestibular system, we also reduce the possibility of it compounding problems as it interacts with other elements of the nervous system. The vestibular system has projections, linking it strongly to the cerebellum, which not only regulates much of our movement, but also provides a direct connection to the functions of our autonomic nervous system, responsible for such functions as pulse, breathing, etc. We all have experienced how our systems react to stress even when those systems are intact. We shut down and regress. Where the systems are only functioning marginally, and other areas of the brain and central nervous system are already over-taxed in compensating for this major deficit, stress can cause profound effects.
Some individuals find a balance point is their faith.
Sometimes balance comes by closing something off. When we look away, similarly we are defocusing visual attention, and relaxing the system. Again, anyone who has experienced stress realizes how while under stress other higher level functions deteriorate. When we are continually under stress, these may seem absent, until brief periods of respite allow us to know we are still capable of speaking, walking, writing, etc. An Overview to Recovery Viewing vestibular problems as merely related to balance, which has remained a common misconception, vastly oversimplifies the matter.