[Polyvagal theory] explains the science of connection, offering a map of the nervous system to guide our exploration as well as skills we can practice to strengthen our ability to anchor ourselves and each other in safety and regulation.
—Deb Dana, Anchored [i]
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This is the first of a 5-article series exploring polyvagal theory, trauma, and healing.
Your heart is pounding. Your palms are damp. Some part of you—faster than thought—has already decided something.
Or maybe it's the opposite: your shoulders drop, your breath deepens, and without deciding to, you feel at ease.
Both of these are your autonomic nervous system (ANS) at work. The ANS is the network mammals evolved to answer one question, over and over, faster than we can consciously ask it: Am I safe, or am I in danger? Based on the answer, the ANS shifts our bodies and minds into one of two broad modes. We can either be in "connection mode" or "protection mode."
When we’re in connection mode, we feel comfortably engaged with life. We’re not super stressed or overwhelmed. We can feel a sense of safety—an absence of threat. Connection mode is a relatively pleasant place to be!
A core component of connection mode is a branch of the vagus nerve known as the “ventral” vagus, which helps us feel calm yet engaged. Activation of the ventral vagus nerve is a distinctly mammalian response to stimuli that our ancestors evolved 200 million years ago. Through this nerve, we access a sense of safety through connection—connection to other nervous systems, to our environment, and to our own inner experience.
But sometimes we need to shift into protection mode.
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Protection mode comes in two stages.
The first stage of protection mode is fight-or-flight, where energy floods into our system so that we can act with speed and power. Say a vicious dog is running toward you. Fight-or-flight gives you the energy to fight the dog off or to run away.
The second stage of protection mode is the freeze response. Fight-or-flight tends to be intuitive—most of us have felt that adrenaline surge. But freeze is trickier to recognize in ourselves, so it's worth slowing down here. The freeze response is actually a spectrum of immobility.
On one end of the spectrum is the “braced freeze,” where we feel tensed and energized. Imagine hiding from an intruder and feeling like a tightly-wound ball of constriction. This keeps us quiet, still, small, hidden.
On the other end of the freeze spectrum is the “collapsed freeze,” where it feels like all the energy drains out of the system. We go limp. In collapsed freeze, we’re “playing dead” like the possum. This is beneficial because it numbs our pain and dulls overwhelming experiences by sending our consciousness outside of our bodies.
Here’s a visual representation of this freeze spectrum:
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Let's return to connection mode.
In connection mode, life feels workable. Our “waves” of arousal and rest rise and fall in a manageable rhythm. The up-waves represent mobilization (we’re active); the down-waves represent immobilization (we’re relaxing). Notice in the image below how the waves don’t get too high or too low. They stay within a “window of tolerance” (also known as a “zone of resilience”).
In large part, mobilization (the up-wave) is driven by the brain’s relationship with the adrenal glands, which sit atop the kidneys and squirt out stress hormones. This stimulates us into action.
Meanwhile, immobilization (the down-wave) is made possible by the vagus nerve, which keeps us from getting “too up.” Through the vagus, we’re able sloooooow down, relax, and restore ourselves.
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When we face a danger that requires a burst of energy, our up-wave spikes. This is the fight-or-flight response. Notice how our wave now crosses the threshold of the zone of resilience:
If our ANS determines that we need to act with speed and power—like darting out of the way of a falling tree branch—we use this energy to stay safe.
But if hyper-arousal proves to be inappropriate or ineffective, we have that second option: freezing. Here, a different segment of the vagus nerve—the "dorsal vagus"—shifts us into immobility. Freezing hides us. Maybe if we stay still and quiet, or become numb and dissociated, we'll survive the overwhelming event intact.
Whether the nervous system is in fight-or-flight or freeze, we're operating outside our window of tolerance. We've crossed the upper threshold in the diagram. Our manageable wave has become more extreme.
[I’ll note here that the "polyvagal" in "polyvagal theory" means more than one ("poly") branch of the vagus nerve ("vagal"): the ventral vagus, which helps us feel safely connected, and the dorsal vagus, which stimulates the freeze response. Stephen Porges developed the theory in the 1990s, drawing together decades of research on how these two branches shape our sense of safety and threat.]
Now, I want to emphasize that the two stages of protection mode (fight-or-flight and freeze) are superpowers! They’re life-saving capacities.
Once we've used these protective superpowers to access safety, we have the opportunity to return to connection mode—reestablishing our wave in a comfortable zone. This return isn't automatic, though. Sometimes we get stuck in protection mode long after the danger has passed, still braced or still collapsed, even though we're safe now. Learning how to find our way back—deliberately, skillfully—is much of what the rest of this series is about.
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So, why do I find polyvagal theory so useful? Well, because it’s easy for us to get stuck in protection mode, and this framework can help us get unstuck.
Protection mode, after all, is intended to be temporary. Fight-or-flight and freeze are designed to only last long enough for us to survive the tiger attack. But if protection mode becomes our default mode, well, then life becomes very uncomfortable. We find ourselves constantly revved up, braced, or collapsed. We find ourselves perpetually living outside our window of tolerance.
Polyvagal theory gives us a means to understand our nervous system and to reshape it in a way that serves us. By strengthening our ability to access safety through connection, we can promote pathways toward ease and belonging, instead of only relying on our protection strategies. And by becoming more attuned to our survival states, we can stop being so terrified of them.
As we learn the “language” of the nervous-system and start to travel its pathways more skillfully, we begin to minimize chronic states of dysregulation (anxiety, anger, insomnia, depression, fatigue, withdrawal, and so on).
Polyvagal theory has provided me with a pathway for reshaping my own autonomic nervous system, and it serves as a foundation for my work with my clients. So, I’m providing this exploration as a resource for my clients and for anyone else who might be interested in accessing greater clarity and adeptness in navigating life’s challenges.
In the next article, we’ll dig a little deeper into our connection and protection states. Click here to read on!
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[i] Dana D. Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory. Boulder, CO: Sounds True; 2021: 1.