Polyvagal Theory, Part 1: Connection & Protection

[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.

There’s so much happening around us and within us at any given moment. In order to navigate this complex existence, we mammals have evolved a sophisticated autonomic nervous system. (It’s called “autonomic” because of the automatic manner in which it functions.)

This autonomic nervous system (ANS) discerns whether we’re safe or in danger at a particular point in time, and it tells our bodies and minds to respond accordingly. In essence, we can either be in “connection mode” or “protection mode.”

When we’re in connection mode, we feel comfortably engaged with our 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 my way. Fight-or-flight gives me the energy to fight the dog off or to run away.

The second stage of protection mode is the freeze response. 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. 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 for a sec.

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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Now let’s return to protection mode. When we face a danger that requires a burst of energy, our autonomic nervous system will spike our wave of arousal upward into hyper-arousal; 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. (Remember, this is an automatic process; the ANS is working underneath the level of our conscious awareness.)

But if hyper-arousal proves to be inappropriate or ineffective, we have another option: Freezing. Here, different segment of the vagus nerve, known as the “dorsal vagus,” shifts us into immobility.

Freezing hides us. Maybe if we stay still and quiet, or if we become numb and disassociated, we’ll survive this 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.

Now, I want to emphasize here that these two stages of protection mode are superpowers! They’re life-saving capacities.

And once we’ve used these protection-mode superpowers to access safety, we have the opportunity to return to connection mode, reestablishing our wave in a comfortable zone.

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This framework is called “polyvagal theory” because it hinges on more than one (“poly”) branch of the vagus nerve (“vagal”): There’s the ventral vagus (which helps us feel safely connected) and then there’s the dorsal vagus (which stimulates the freeze response). Stephen Porges developed the theory in the 1990s, and I find it so incredibly useful.

Why is this framework useful? Well, because it’s easy for us to get stuck in protection mode, and this polyvagal theory helps 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 shape 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 our survival states, we can stop being so terrified of them.

As we learn the “language” of the nervous-system understanding and start to travel its pathways more skillfully, we begin to minimize chonirc statres of dysregulation (anxiety, anger, insomnia, depression, fatigue, withdrawal, and so on).

Polyvagal theory has provided me with a pathway for shaping 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.