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Polyvagal Theory DR. STEPHEN PORGES DEB DANA POLYVAGAL PODCAST Founder of the Polyvagal Clinical application of the Educational podcast on Theory Polyvagal Theory application of the Polyvagal Theory Polyvagal Theory The Nervous System is System AN EASY TO UNDERSTAND Queen ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM E-BOOK EXPLAINING By Erika Straub By Erika FEELING SAFE The Autonomic Nervous System The autonomic nervous system controls our internal environment automatically. It works below our level of consciousness as a completely natural and organic system. There are two branches of the And perception here TRUMPS reality. autonomic nervous system: It not only about if you are safe, but if you FEEL safe. Sympathetic: Activates the flight & fight response Every autonomic response from your autonomic nervous system then is in Parasympathetic: Sometimes called service of finding safety and rest & digest, but this system is an surviving. energy conserver At the heart of anxiety is an inability to These branches work together and in feel safe and a continuation of being response to safety and danger. That stuck in survival mode, resulting in means, we automatically adjust to cues consequences when we get stuck such of safety or danger. Now what’s as burnout, panic attacks, repeated fascinating is, these cues can be from trauma, physical illness… the external environment, within our bodies, or simply from our perception. I want you to ask yourself today, “Do I FEEL safe? Does my body feel safe? ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM The Polyvagal Theory states that our The safe and social autonomic state autonomic nervous system controls the connection between the automatically adjusts between THREE three. different states of experiencing ourselves and the world. These states So, what’s really needed to feel safe? change based on cues of safety or risk. There needs to be an ONGOING There are consequences if we get stuck opportunity for secure interactions in a particular state chronically. We with others. These safe relationships cannot choose our autonomic state, need to be reciprocal. The time spent but we can influence how we respond with these safe people engaging in a to them. We go through these states shared activity keeps you in your social such as steps on a ladder stacked on engagement system, and therefor your top of each other in the body. safe and social autonomic state. Safety can be understood through SAFE & SOCIAL facial expressions especially those around and above the eyes, where In your safe and social state your social there is increased movement. We engagement system is in full effect. naturally pick up on posture, The system has evolutionary roots interpreting if the person is relaxed. developed out of the need for humans We neurocept prosody in voice. to live in community for safety. Feeling danger is indicative of such things as flat facial expressions and Did you know your heart, brain, monotone vocal notes often linked and face are connected? with an elevated heart rate. When You Feel Safe You make eye contact and can be close to You can take a deeper others and enjoy safe breath from your belly touch Your heart rate is You are primed for lower optimal health You can be in stillness Your cognitive skills, You can converse collaboration capacity, Saliva and digestion and problem-solving are stimulated ability is accessible ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM In this state, you can access and implement pro-social behaviors. You can connect naturally and instantly engage, it doesn’t feel like you are choosing it, you just do it. You pick up on safety cues, as well as red flags. Similarly, you can naturally disengage when you pick up on danger cues. FLIGHT & FIGHT Your heart is racing. Your blood pressure increases. Shallow breaths. Cortisol and adrenaline are pumping through your body. Your muscles are tense. You mobilize your body. You prime your limbs to flee or fight. This is sympathetic arousal, your flight or fight state. Danger triggers your state shift. This system is designed for short bursts of energy discharge for survival. When you are in sympathetic survival mode you experience: Increased in pain tolerance Increased vigilance to scan internal and external environments for danger Tension in your chest and neck muscles Middle ear muscles turn off to better hear deep sounds or high pitch sounds indicative of risk Did you know that the instinct to flee always comes before the impulse to fight? If you can’t run away to escape, then you are primed to fight. This system can be overridden if you perceive there isn’t an option to flee, or if there has been a consistent message that fleeing makes you “weak”. When chronically triggered into FLIGHT mode, the sympathetic arousal is experienced as panic, anxiety, fear, on guard, dread, and hypervigilance. Sound familiar? When chronically primed for FIGHT mode, when running away isn't possible or doesn't reduce your sympathetic arousal, you may experience anger, rage, irritation, aggression, and a clenched jaw and fists. Sympathetic arousal is But the key is MINDFULNESS In this state physiologically: supposed to be naturally and INTENTION with the settled, but sometimes people movement. There is a massive drop in do not have the luxury of safety blood pressure and heart to do so. Connecting mind and body. rate There is less blood going to They cannot find release and It’s scary to move back into the brain relief from the sympathetic safety. It feels vulnerable, Dissociation energy. And sometimes people dangerous, and perpetuates Floating away feeling learn they actually need to be staying stuck in sympathetic Detached from body in this dangerous state to get arousal. Reduction in their needs met. breathing Movement inhibited The nervous system is use- Numbing effect dependent, meaning it adapts to survive. The adaptations These effect occur to feel less become constant states of pain at the possibility of being and a lens people view dying. themselves and the world. You can move from danger Numbness allows back into safety, even after escape chronic states of survival mode. Dissociation allows The requirements: for a quicker Safe environment escape Safe eye contact Safe people FREEZE When someone survives this Safe discharge kind of danger or life threat, The third of the three they often don’t remember it. There needs to be mindfulness autonomic states in Polyvagal If consciousness were present brought to what the body is Theory is the oldest then there would have been no doing in combination with evolutionary response and escape. some physical release. The defensive system. It is also physical movement can be your last resort when faced You shut down to survive. Your such things as shaking the with danger. This state is close nervous system was forced body, dance, sprinting, to my heart as it is tightly into shut down mode. pushing against a wall. embedded with trauma and panic. ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM You did not consciously choose to go back in time to this evolutionary defensive system Shut down and fear is the essence of trauma. But shutting down is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT A NORMAL REACTION TO AN ABNORMAL EXPERIENCE(S). It enabled you to survive. It helped you shut down the sympathetic arousal and the fear by engaging the parasympathetic Through learning how to nervous system simultaneously. It helped discharge the surge of energy, you you get through to the other side. And you can come out of this state. also build resiliency and body awareness. If you are stuck in Foggy Tired shut down mode Colder now, you may be Pressure on chest experiencing: Wanting to hide Shame Numbness Self-blame Hopeless Disorientation Feeling abandoned Dissociation Lonely experience Trapped sensation ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM To move up and out of shut down there needs to be a gentle return of energy that doesn’t over power the nervous system. The nervous system has to feel safe. It requires: slowing down daily relaxation rituals patience compassion one safe person The path back up to feeling safe requires going through sympathetic arousal. This step is often where the anxiety and panic show up. As uncomfortable and frightening as this is, you are moving up the ladder. You are feeling again, you just haven’t learned how to discharge this energy. YET. Through learning how to discharge the surge of energy, you also build resiliency and body awareness. The keys to coming home to yourself and a return to a safe and social parasympathetic way of being. NUEROCEPTION Understanding neuroception is the key that unlocks state shifts in the Polyvagal Theory. Neuroception is the body’s ability to detect danger outside of conscious awareness. The danger identified (outside of your awareness) could be from the external environment, inside your body, or from your perception of something. The nervous system detects this through the senses. The information your autonomic nervous system neurocepts, will determine your mind and body’s response. Therefore, it will determine We neurocept danger through: Safety cues bring us into our your state of being. We social engagement system, and automatically adjust to safety Flat affect danger cues drop us down the or danger within our Monotone voice ladder to flight, fight, and or autonomic nervous system Avoidant eye contact freeze. through this process of Defensive behaviors neuroception. Running away Neuroception shifts the body Fighting up and down the ladder, and in We neurocept safety through: each state, we only have access We neurocept life threat to certain behaviors. When we Safe and soft eye contact through: neurocept danger we lose Fuller
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