An Introduction to Polyvagal Theory

Written by me, edited by Lisa Baird, RAc

Your mood isn’t “all in your head'“

Feeling anxious, scared, angry, or apathetic “for no apparent reason” is a common human experience today. We can be mentally aware of these feelings and try to rationalize our way out of them, but this approach seems to fall short or only offer marginal relief for some people. So far, a great deal of science and mental health research has assumed that the brain has ultimate control, our mind is the captain of the ship, and feelings and thoughts (whether conscious or unconscious) from the head ultimately determine our response, emotion, and behaviour. Dysfunctional and maladaptive patterns are frequently attributed to harmful mindsets and/or issues of brain function or structure. Although I agree that there is likely some truth to this approach, it’s definitely not the whole story.

Many therapists, body workers, and energetic healers have long known that our bodies and nervous systems also remember, feel, and respond.

Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory (PVT) offers a different understanding of our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. It’s a theory that includes our entire being in our “mental health”, explaining why we hold trauma and memories in our bodies, and why paying attention to our bodies and what they have to tell us can be so important to emotional resilience and regulation.

Are you interested in learning more? I’ll do my best to share my understanding of PVT, starting with the nervous system and the three states. Feel free to skip ahead to a different section, or skim over it. I would suggest applying the theory to your own experience of the world by using the chart provided (or making your own), and revisiting the theory a few times to become more fluent with the terms and concepts.

Let’s start with naming the three states of the Autonomic Nervous System, which I think of as the backbone of PVT. It’s important to have at least a basic understanding of the states before diving deeper into the theory, and becoming familiar with their names is a good start.

The Three States of the Autonomic Nervous system

Ventral Vagal. Often referred to as: safe-and-social or rest and digest.

Sympathetic. Often referred to as: fight or flight or mobilization.

Dorsal Vagal. Often referred to as: shut-down or immobilization.

The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Mostly unconscious, several aspects of the autonomic nervous system can be brought into our consciousness (like breathing or swallowing). I was taught in school that parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems were opposing forces, with the fight-or-flight sympathetic system on one end of the spectrum, and the rest-and-digest system on the other. PVT challenges this assumption, suggesting a pattern that looks a little more like this:

Notice how the parasympathetic nervous system is placed on both ends of the spectrum, playing a large role in both safe-and-social AND shut-down states. Now in reality these states play out a lot more like a soup (therapist Deb Dana’s idea) where the different states act like spices — like flavours of moods, some of them can be dominant or overpowering. There’s more on this in the Mixed States section below.

Do I still have your attention? Wonderful. So happy you made it this far!

The Ladder

Another concept from Deb Dana, the ladder is used to describe how we move from state to state, usually in a certain order, by moving up or down. It is a descriptive way to communicate our location on the polyvagal state spectrum, but also conveys the feeling of rising up into safe-and-social or falling into shut-down (a common experience). When we draw out the polyvagal ladder, it looks a little more like this:

The Vagus Nerve and Evolution

Latin for “the wandering nerve”, the vagus nerve is the longest of all cranial nerves, extending from the brainstem all the way down to your heart, lungs, even your gut. The vagus nerve makes up about 90% of all parasympathetic nerve fibres. And if we go way back in evolution, to the time of reptiles, it was the dorsal vagal portion of the vagus nerve that was first to develop. The shut-down dorsal vagal fibres protect reptiles from danger by forcing a drop in blood pressure and immobilizing them in the presence of potential danger or threat. This increases their pain tolerance and “playing dead” makes them more difficult to spot if there is a predator close by.

The sympathetic nervous system was next to develop in the PVT evolution time-line. Unlike the parasympathetic nervous system (aka shut-down and safe-and-social) the sympathetic nervous system is not ruled by the vagus nerve. It developed as a survival tactic for fish, allowing a quick change in swimming direction to flee from a threat.

Then, eventually with mammals, came the ventral vagal branch of the vagus nerve. This is what author Resmaa Menakem calls the “soul nerve”, it exists to allow for connection, the ability to be social, to care for each other. Belonging to community increases our chance of survival. However, our bodies are hardwired to pick up on danger, and it’s only in the absence of danger that we can pick up on safety cues and start climbing up the ladder into this safe-and-social state ruled by the ventral vagus.

The more evolutionary recent states inhibit the older ones. So a sympathetic state inhibits the dorsal vagal. And ventral vagal inhibits both sympathetic and dorsal vagal. When threatened and unable to restore safety, the autonomic nervous system reaches further back to drop into older states in its attempt at adaptation and survival.

Neuroception

A term initially used by Stephen Porges, neuroception describes how the nervous system  subconsciously evaluates the environment and people, determining whether they are life threatening, dangerous, or safe.

What are cues of safety?

This term is used to refer to elements in our environment or social interactions that signal to our nervous system that the situation or person is safe. These can change from person to person depending on their experience, but there are some cues that are generally interpreted as safe. These cues include relaxed eye contact, prosodic (sing-song) voice (ie how many people instinctively speak to babies and small children) and a welcoming and engaged facial expression. We subconsciously perform cues of safety when we ourselves feel safe, showing others that it’s ok for them to feel safe too.

What is co-regulation?

In social interaction, our nervous system turns on our social engagement system by sending out cues of safety if we are in a ventral vagal (safe-and-social) state. This makes it more likely for other people we interact with to reflect safety cues back in our direction. This is called co-regulation and is a key part of mental health.

Mixed states

The ventral vagal (safe-and-social) branch of the vagus nerve acts much like a conductor, allowing some sympathetic and dorsal vagal activation when and where appropriate to the situation. Children exercise this ability like a mental-emotional muscle when they play games such as tag, which involves aspects typically associated with fear and danger, like running and competing, while at the same time staying friendly and present with their peers. Physical activity increases our stress physiology, while lying in bed at night, meditation, or hugging a friend all make use of the shut-down state. The ventral vagal branch allows for flexibility, moving through and mixing states as the situation changes.

Interesting factoid about ears

Our ear drums respond to our states too. When in a ventral vagal state, they tighten up to detect the higher frequency, prosodic voices that are cues of safety. However, moving down the ladder changes nerve signals to the ear drum, loosening up the tension. The ear drum is now tuned to pick up low, threatening sounds and finds it more difficult to tune into the higher frequency cues of safety. Ear drums are the perfect example of how our physiology make it difficult to pick up cues of safety when we find ourselves down the polyvagal ladder.

Getting “stuck”

Our nervous systems can get stuck in a state, making it difficult to return to safe-and-social. In a sympathetic state for example, our nervous system is tuned to pick up threat signals (not safety cues) in our environment. At the same time, our physiology is letting other bodies know we aren’t feeling safe, which means others might be less likely to send cues of safety our way. Awareness of our states can alone be therapeutic, as curiosity and compassion are required for this type of understanding. See “Approach our nervous system with curiosity” below for more on this topic.

The state determines the story

Our brains create stories (an attempt at making sense of our state) in order to influence our thoughts, actions, and behaviours. So, for example, I can easily assume that someone doesn’t like me if their body language isn’t warm and inviting, if they barely look into my eyes, or if it seems like they’re mumbling. Sounds like this person may actually be in a dorsal vagal state, right? But if I’m able to see past the story and notice how I feel in my body, name my state, notice what I’m reacting to, and remind myself that this is likely a state they’re stuck in, my nervous system changes. I no longer see they’re behaviour as a threat and my nervous system can return to safe-and-social. Instead of feeling constrictive and quiet, I feel expansive and curious (this is a common way that I experience the states, but it may feel different to you).

I frequently send signals of dysregulation into the world. We’re all human. However, understanding that this happens and that we often unconsciously react to signals can create a more compassionate and understanding awareness—an awareness that encourages a ventral vagal (safe-and-social) state.

Approaching our nervous system with curiosity

Becoming more familiar with our nervous systems and asking ourselves how we feel in our bodies can be a key step to climbing back up the ladder when we feel dysregulated. Notice how your body is trying to keep you safe, and maybe ask your state what it needs. Befriending our nervous system and learning about how polyvagal theory applies to our own physiology can be a game changer.

Here is a little chart I made (inspired by the epic Deb Dana) for you to fill in and explore what these states mean for you. I encourage you to use names for the states that feel best for you. It tends to be easier for people to start with the sympathetic state, then move to dorsal vagal, and leave the ventral vagal for the end. If you can’t think of an example of a situation in which you feel safe-and-social I encourage you to see a therapist who is familiar with polyvagal theory to help you figure this out.

Want to learn more?

Stuck Not Broken podcast

The podcast Stuck Not Broken by Justin Sunseri is a great place to start and become more familiar with the concepts and states. I would suggest listening to the first few episodes, and then skipping ahead to the episodes with Stephen Porges, and there’s a fantastic episode or two with Deb Dana as well.

The Pocked Guide to Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges

I highly suggest reading this book if you’re up for it. It’s is a lot easier to read if you’re already familiar with the basic concepts, so I would suggest you explore the theory a little before taking this dive.

Deb Dana

I also suggest looking up Deb Dana’s website, she has a great handout in her resources section, has published several books, and has been applying PVT in her counselling practice for years.

References

Dana, D. (2018). The polyvagal theory in therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Las Vegas: Central Recovery Press (CRP).

Porges, S. (2017, October). The Neurobiology of Feeling Safe. The Neuropsychotherapist, 5(10), 13-23.

Porges, S. W. (2017). The pocket guide to the polyvagal theory: The transformative power of feeling safe. London: Norton