The autonomic nervous system is at the heart of our lived experience. It
influences the way we live, love, and work; it guides how we move
through the world. The nervous system is the common denominator in
our human family designed to help us successfully navigate the
challenges of daily living ensuring we survive in moments of danger and
thrive in times of safety. Polyvagal Theory, developed by renowned
scientist Stephen Porges, offers a guide to the inner workings of the
autonomic nervous system and a way to partner with our nervous
system to navigate this unfamiliar territory. According to Polyvagal Theory,
three organizing principles — neuroception, hierarchy, and co-regulation —
form the foundation of understanding how our nervous system works.
The Language of Polyvagal Theory
Neuroception
The stories about who we are and how the world works originate in
our autonomic state, are sent through autonomic pathways from
the body to the brain, and are then translated by the brain into the
beliefs that guide our daily living. The mind narrates what the
nervous system knows. Story follows state. Before the brain
understands and makes meaning of an experience, the autonomic
nervous system has assessed the situation and initiated a
response. Coined by Polyvagal Theory developer Stephen
Porges, neuroception describes how our autonomic nervous
system takes in information. This inner, subconscious surveillance
system gathers information through three pathways: inside
listening to what is happening in our internal organs, outside
scanning the environment, and between sensing the connection to
another nervous system. Through neuroception, we are
continuously broadcasting and receiving messages of welcome
and warning. In response to the information that we receive via
neuroception, the autonomic nervous system makes moment-to-
moment decisions about safety and survival, and we move from
state to state along the autonomic hierarchy.
Hierarchy
The autonomic nervous system responds to sensations in the body
and signals from the environment through three pathways of
response. These pathways work in a specified order and respond
to challenges in predictable ways called the autonomic hierarchy.
Each pathway brings its own set of thoughts, feelings, behaviors,
and bodily experiences. The three pathways (and their patterns of
response), in evolutionary order from oldest to newest, are the
dorsal vagus (immobilization), the sympathetic nervous system
(mobilization), and the ventral vagus (social engagement and
connection).
Ventral
At the top of the autonomic hierarchy, is the system of connection.
The ventral state is essential for health and wellbeing. In this state,
we feel grounded, organized, and ready to meet the day. Life feels
manageable; we see options, have hope, and hear new stories.
We connect to ourselves, to others, to the world around us, and to
Spirit. We are regulated and ready to engage. Our heart rate is
regulated and our breath is full. We take in the faces of friends,
tune in to conversations, and tune out distracting noises. We see
the big picture and connect to the world and the people in it. I
might describe myself as happy, active, interested and the world
as safe, fun, and peaceful. From this ventral vagal place at the top
of the autonomic ladder, I am connected to myself and can reach
out to others. Some of the daily living experiences in this state
include being organized, following through with plans, taking care
of myself, taking time to play, doing things with others, feeling
productive at work, and having a general feeling of regulation and
a sense of management. Health benefits include a healthy heart,
regulated blood pressure, a strong immune system decreasing my
vulnerability to illness, good digestion, quality sleep, and an overall
sense of well-being.
Sympathetic
Down one step on the hierarchy, is a system of mobilization. In its
everyday function, it helps regulate heart and breath rhythms and
brings us energy to move through the day. In its survival role, it
activates pathways of fight and flight and pulls us into anxiety and
anger. We go into action. Fight or flight happens here. In this state,
our heart rate speeds up, our breath is short and shallow, we scan
our environment looking for danger—we are “on the move.” I might
describe myself as anxious or angry and feel the rush of
adrenaline that makes it hard for me to be still. I am listening for
sounds of danger and don’t hear friendly voices. The world may
feel dangerous, chaotic, and unfriendly. From this place of
sympathetic mobilization—a step down the autonomic ladder — I
may believe, “The world is a dangerous place and I need to protect
myself from harm.” Some of the daily living problems can be
anxiety, panic attacks, anger, inability to focus or follow through,
and distress in relationships. Health consequences can include
heart disease; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; sleep
problems; weight gain; memory impairment; headache; chronic
neck, shoulder, and back tension; stomach problems; and
increased vulnerability to illness.
Dorsal
At the bottom of the hierarchy, in its everyday role regulates
digestion bringing nutrients to nourish us. When recruited in
service of survival, dorsal becomes a system of shutting down. We
feel drained, without enough energy to engage with the world. We
collapse, disconnect, and disappear. Here bottom of the hierarchy,
I am alone with my despair and escape into not knowing, not
feeling, almost a sense of not being. I might describe myself as
hopeless, abandoned, foggy, too tired to think or act and the world
as empty, dead, and dark. From this earliest place on the
evolutionary timeline, where my mind and body have moved into
conservation mode, I may believe, “I am lost and no one will ever
find me.” Some of the daily living problems can be dissociation,
problems with memory, depression, isolation, and no energy for
the tasks of daily living. Health consequences of this state can
include chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, digestive issues, low blood
pressure, and respiratory problems.
We regularly travel this hierarchy as we navigate the challenges of
daily living. In fact, none of us are always anchored in regulation.
That is an unreasonable and unachievable goal. Wellbeing comes
from a nervous system that moves out of ventral regulation into
sympathetic and dorsal dysregulation and finds the way back to
ventral. Moving out of regulation into sympathetic or dorsal
survival is not the problem. It is only when we move out of
regulation and get stuck there that we suffer.
Co-regulation
Co-regulation is necessary first to survive and then to thrive. It is a
biological imperative—a need that must be met to sustain life.
Through reciprocal regulation of our autonomic states, we feel safe
to move into connection and create trusting relationships. As we
grow, we add the ability to self-regulate, but we never lose the
need and the longing to be safely connected to others. Through
co-regulation, a foundation of safety is created, and nourishing
connections follow. Co-regulation creates a physiological platform
of safety that supports a psychological story of security that then
leads to social engagement. The autonomic nervous systems of
two individuals find sanctuary in a co-created experience of
connection. We live in a culture that encourages autonomy and
independence, and yet we need to remember that we are wired to
live in connection. Co-regulation is a necessary ingredient for
pphysical and emotional wellbeing. Throughout our lives we look
for, and long for, safe and reliable connections. hysical and
emotional wellbeing. Throughout our lives we look for, and long
for, safe and reliable connections.
physical and emotional wellbeing. Throughout our lives we
look for, and long for, safe and reliable connections.
Through a Polyvagal lens, we understand that actions are automatic and
adaptive, generated by the autonomic nervous system well below the level
of conscious awareness. This is not the brain making a cognitive choice,
these are autonomic energies moving in patterns of protection. And with
this new awareness, the door opens to compassion.
Origin Story
Out of Stephen Porges's brilliant work developing Polyvagal Theory in
the 70s, a worldwide community of Polyvagal-guided people and
systems have developed as we better understand the power of the
autonomic nervous system to guide our movements and shape our stories.
Deb Dana is a co-founder of The Polyvagal Institute with Stephen
Porges. In 2018 they co-authored Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal
Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018).
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