AN EASY TO UNDERSTAND E-BOOK EXPLAINING Polyvagal Theory By Erika Straub Educational podcast on application of the Polyvagal Theory POLYVAGAL PODCAST Clinical application of the Polyvagal Theory DEB DANA The Nervous System is Queen Founder of the Polyvagal Theory DR. STEPHEN PORGES

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM FEELING SAFE The

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 .

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, , 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 range of voice access to pro social behaviors. Safe touch Freeze Being in closer proximity to Dissociation We must FEEL safe first. It’s so others Numbness important to understand that Posture there are healthy and Pro-social behaviors unhealthy neuroception responses,

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM Healthy Unhealthy

Body detects and shifts to appropriate Body does not accurately detect or shift state based on environment states based on the environment

Body uses socially healthy behavior in a Body doesn’t fight or flee in unsafe safe environment situations

Body does not use defenses unless in Body does not use social behavior in a danger safe environment

Body doesn’t recognize red flags or isn’t picking them up

Neuroception is key to understanding why trauma can be repetitive.

Or why trauma is passed down through generations. It explains why you have panic attacks and specific behavioral and bodily responses that seem to come out of nowhere.

Nueroception helps to bring NARRATIVES compassion and awareness to your body. You can learn to There’s another piece to the puzzle. We've identified three understand your states, your autonomic states of being. When you state shift and drop triggers, and bring yourself down the ladder to flight, fight, and freeze states, you're back up the ladder to safety. accompanied by a story or your own personal narrative.

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM The state shift generates your story. The story helps explains what you are experiencing and feeling.

“I deserved it” “I shouldn’t have been there” “It was my fault” “I’m not lovable”

The story was created to provide meaning. As humans, we are meaning making machines. The story you created doesn’t necessarily reflect reality, in fact, usually it doesn’t.

The story may actually add to the response and to the pain. It can perpetuate you being stuck in the same reaction and the same pattern of state shifting.

It can add to you repeating the same behaviors over and over. It can add to more trauma because stories can Trauma (overstimulating adverse become self-fulfilling prophecies when event) + reaction (state shift where they lay dormant for too long. trauma lives) + story (explanation of what happened and why).

The stories are usually which state we are tightly woven with experiencing. shame. We need to go through each state to move WHAT ARE YOUR back up to the top of the STORIES? ladder. WHAT ARE THE STORIES That means, identifying YOU HAVE ABOUT the stories in each state, OTHERS AND HOW THEY helps us to recognize TREAT YOU?

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM HEALING AND STRENGTHENING The Vagal Brake

Polyvagal means “many vagus nerves”. The is the tenth cranial nerve and thought of as the main highway that connects the brain and the body.

We cannot neglect the body by just The vagal brake is most reliable when it focusing on the brain when healing. has been influenced by co-regulation in Polyvagal Theory acknowledges this. It early childhood, when there are safe acknowledges that stories (brain) follow people that create ongoing experiences state (body). in the safe and social state. This allows one to tolerate distress easier. Four lanes on the vagus highway go north from the body to the brain and one The vagal brake is used every single day lane that goes south from the brain to to navigate smooth transitions between the organs of the body. states.

These pathways regulate all autonomic Trauma compromises the strength of the processes. This means we can heal from vagal brake. Small moments of distress the bottom up. That the body can send become substantial challenges and state safety signals to the brain. That we can shifts. We stay in survival mode states influence state through breath, through longer and get there more easily. movement, through art. Fortunately, the brake is not broken and Bottom up healing can help to can be re-strengthened. Stay tuned for strengthen the vagal brake. The vagal tools to strengthen the vagal brake. brake regulates survival states, distress and heart rate.

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM SAFE RELATIONSHIPS WIDEN The Window of Tolerance

How much can you endure before you are in survival mode?

How much neuroception of danger can you withstand before the vagal brake releases and sympathetic arousal takes over?

This is known as your window of tolerance.

If you blow through your window of tolerance you enter into survival states of Hyperarousal, flight and fight response, is hyper and then hypo arousal. characterized by hypervigilance and feelings of anxiety and or panic.

Hypoarousal, freeze The window of tolerance is response, is experienced only as large as the strength through emotional of the vagal brake. And the numbness, emptiness, or vagal brake is only as strong paralysis. as the amount of safety you have in your relationships. The more trauma you have experienced and the more Isolation drops you into a unprocessed trauma you hold survival state so we need safe within your body, the smaller relationships to widen our the window of tolerance you window of tolerance. have.

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM Safe relationships provide co-regulation. Co-regulation is how we learn self- regulation.

People often think self-regulation comes first. But it doesn’t! We learn how to self- regulate through co-regulation. Babies come into the world seeking co-regulation from their primary caregivers without the capacity to self-regulate.

Healing trauma is then much about expanding the window of tolerance and learning to find and feel safety with others. It is about discovering our edges, taking baby steps past them, while honoring and respecting the body and nervous system.

Do you have one safe relationship where you can co-regulate? One person who can stay in their secure and social system and be an anchor when you drop into survival states? Someone who can help you climb Co-regulation always comes back up to safety? before self-regulation.

Co-regulation Dysregulation

This consists of two people The dynamic between two who are present, people where the presence reciprocally contributing is interrupted. There isn’t to engagement, feeling a reciprocity or consistency connection between both. in the internal feedback The upper part of the face loops of either person. One has movement, the eyes person may not be holding show crinkles, and voices eye contact or speaking in hold prosody. monotone triggering danger in the other person

ANXIOUSFEMALE.COM At twenty-two, I lost my father The unfolding of these events I completed my first yoga to a twelve-year battle with undoubtedly led to the teacher training in San cancer that triggered an experience of my first panic Francisco and within the same unearthing of repressed attack. year flew to Mysore, India, to and fear. learn the yogic tradition from After a decade of suffering, the its birthplace. I practiced at Shortly after his death, and transformation happened. The School of the World in Costa with bleeding ulcers pieces began to fit. Rica and studied yoga for penetrating my digestive tract anxiety and trauma in and colon, I graduated Magna Cum Laude Brooklyn. with. a BA in Psychology and I fell into hysterics after a earned my MA in Depth Yoga is one of the greatest medical exam. Unsure of why Psychology. loves I’ve ever known. The my body was hyperventilating release in my body gave me the or why I felt so violated, I was The severity of my pain led me energy to mobilize a buried told then that a physical exam to homeopathic medicine, story of trauma. of that nature could have eastern medicine, spiritual triggered a post traumatic teachers, therapists, and yoga. Anxious Female is the memory to an incident of It was a challenging transition culmination of such sexual abuse I experienced as a from fitness "no days off" experiences. The foundations very young child. lifestyle to a yogi. I was being and teachings of yoga, Somatic asked to slow down, when I experiencing, Depth The news riveted my nervous knew if I did, everything I was Psychology and Feminine system, while also making running from, would catch up wisdom influnce my coaching perfect sense of my to me. services. experience.

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