M2 : Lesson 2 : Polyvagal Mapping: What is the current state of my nervous system?
(Please refer to your module 2 workbook as there are worksheets to review the teachings of this lesson.)
Dr Steven Porges, Polyvagal Founder, says “Our story about the world, ourselves, and our relationships is based on our autonomic nervous system state”.
What does that mean to you? What is your story or perception of your partner, parents, work, kids, body, etc? How could your autonomic state be influencing how you see them? Can you find the correlation?
So the next question is “how do we influence our autonomic state so that we can feel differently about our life?
Well, I believe doing both brain retraining to shift our story and perception and limbic function, and nervous system regulation to help tone our nervous system and improve flexibility are two key ways that WE ALL have empowerment to change our life experience!
Transcript
Model 2 lesson 2. Polyvaggle mapping. Am I okay? Is it safe to connect? Now that we have an overview of the autonomic nervous system, the different circuits and the main nerve involved in self regulation.
We’ll go over some visual maps and diagrams to gain a clear understanding of the Polyvago theory. As I said in the previous module, the key to nervous system regulation into healing chronic illness and trauma patterns is how we feel about the question. Am I okay? Am I inherently okay right now in this? Well, we’re gonna use a metaphor to show the progression of what happens in the nervous system as we seek for the answer to this question, and we try to move into safety from a state of threat.
I’m gonna be using the Polyvaggle ladder analogy that comes from the work of Deb Dana. She’s done a wonderful job explaining the Polyvaggle theory as developed by Stephen Borges, and I highly recommend all of her books to learn more. Now, as we look at the Polyvago ladder map, we see the top of the map or at least the upper half of the ladder is where we’d like to be. The top of the ladder represents ventral vagal connection, which is our innate okayness. That’s the answer to that question we’re wanting to find.
So getting to the top of this ladder is our goal. This is where we feel safe and the ability to be social. This has optimal parasympathetic activity of rest digestion repair, but we’re also able to be in connection. This is where our vagus nerve is operating well. We have healthy vagal tone at the top of the ladder.
Our limbic system is calm, Our prefrontal brain is online. Again, we just feel overall okay and safe. Now in the middle of the letter, it’s represented by the sympathetic dominant state. This is where we’re mobilized to respond. In fight or flight or reactive.
Also, just energized and ready to go and get things done. So it just kinda depends on how much our survival pattern is dominating. So I wanna say that because it’s not bad to have sympathetic activity. When we’re running or playing in sports or just excited about things, that’s good sympathetic activity. Now, with the sympathetic response being dominant, the vagus nerve is not firing as much to allow the sympathetic nervous system to take action.
Now with too much sympathetic activity happening for too long, the limbic system can move into some vigilance and become overreactive. And we can move into this feeling of I’m not okay and I need to take action and I need to fix this or I need to find control. And then down at the bottom of the ladder, we have the dorsal vagal response. This is when we feel immobilized. Disconnected and shut down and hopeless.
Again, this is a parasympathetic nervous system dominant state as it is one of the circuits of the vagus nerve, but it’s the circuit of the vagus nerve when we don’t feel safe. So we’re shut down and we don’t feel safe. It’s very different from the top of the ladder, which is vagus nerve activation, but we feel safe. So notice the difference between ventral vagal and extreme dorsal vagal. An extreme dorsal bagel or the bottom of the ladder.
We are disconnected. We’re shut down, and we can feel hopeless. This is where the emergency break of the body is deployed. The vagal break causes dorsal vagal shutdown to stop all activity. It’s actually extreme bagel tone.
It’s the limbic system in severe threat mode and the brainstem in an ancient survival mode. It’s an I don’t feel okay. Nothing is safe. I can’t get out. I can hardly move.
And although there are 3 primary states of the nervous system activation on this map, It is possible to experience a mixed state or a blended state of more than one state at the same time, and I will touch on these mixed or blended states of activation in a bit. Next, let’s take a closer look at each of these traits, and I want you to think about where you’re at on this map and just kind of come to, no, where is it that you usually reside as your habit point throughout the day of stress? Let’s start with the ventral vagal, I’m okay, social engagement system. There’s a safety response here of love, connection, enjoy. There’s pleasure.
There’s often a feeling of relief being open hearted. Being curious, being engaged, even being passionate. Now, the next thing to talk about is that each state has its own biochemical dominant state. And with ventral vagal dominance, there’s a healing chemistry with anti inflammatory components like the dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins that are health producing. And obviously, this is the chemistry we need to be in to have our body systems optimized to be able to detoxify, to be able to absorb nutrients and fight infections.
Our cells and our mitochondria are in energy production mode and thriving. This is where we’re not in that cell danger response. We’re in safety and purpose. We feel engaged in life. So this pathway, this ventral vagal stay, is the key to our health.
The mindset here might be something like I can self regulate and co regulate with others. I feel connected, safe, loved, and capable. I know I belong, and I’m willing to take risks. Moving on to the sympathetic state. The sympathetic state can become a dominant state of I am not okay, but really I want to mention that sympathetic is not always full of not okayness.
It can be excitement and energized. It can be ventil bagel safety mixed with a lot of actions. So just know that. But when the sympathetic state is ongoing, it does become an I am not okay stress chemistry response The stress pattern might be the fight, the excessive trying, aggression, and tightness in the body, and chest, irritation, yelling enraged and hyper vigilance. The flight could be anxiety running away, avoiding Fear and crying, sometimes restlessness and insomnia happen in this stage.
It can also be represented by the fawning response. This means that this is a response of people pleasing, a deep fear of rejection, having very poor boundaries, not able to speak one’s truth, and also relates to abandonment. And this term fawning was coin by Peter Walker. There’s one more response that people don’t often mention, and it’s called the find response. And it’s also wanting to be rescued, and it’s also a very codependent pattern.
Now, the biochemical state of the sympathetic activation is stress chemistry. Back to that can chemistry of cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine. Often, there is a result that ends up in hormone depletion from just over exertion and constant stress flooding the body. This leads to excessive inflammation and nutrient deficiency. And if you remember from module 1 in the I am not okay diagram, this is when we do not diss charge inflammation and ongoing stress of I’m not okay leads to chronic illness.
Now there’s a mindset needed to return back to ventral vagal, and here are a few tips on that. I can be with and process difficult emotions. I can meet my needs. I’m resilient. I’m connected.
I am willing to live this human life of triggers and joyful experiences. I often find it’s also helpful in this stage to really look for the truth in your situation. Saying yourself, I’m willing to see the truth. I’m willing to see my blind spots. Also, just a general way of being of even though I’m feeling this symptom or this uncomfortable sensation, I can handle it, and I’m gonna find a way to live my life.
Another way in this sympathetic state that I find is helpful is simply saying yourself, I make sense, and I validate my experience. And I decide what I need, and I’m gonna take responsibility and find the resources to meet these needs. And It’s okay to try and fail. I can try it again. So it’s got an optimism even though you’re activated, and that’s how we move up the ladder into ventral vagal.
Now, down at the bottom of the ladder, dorsal vagal. This is giving up. The body is in shutdown. It’s a feeling of I can’t cope And often there’s an immobility, low energy, numb, dissociated, dark, out of focus. Hopelessness, feeling unlovable, empty, alone, and lost.
There’s often a dominant feeling of shame and that the world is dark. And some of the daily living problems can be dissociation and problems with memory in isolation, depression, and just simply no energy to do the tasks of daily living. The health consequences can be severe. There can be chronic fatigue, low blood pressure, digestive issues, poor immune function, decreased ability to detoxify and much more. The biochemical state It’s a complete system shutdown.
You’re in basic survival mode often, meaning there’s a low level of hormones, there’s depleted neurotransmitters, and often nutrient efficiencies. The entire physiological system is in that severe cell danger response. That we learn in module 1. The mitochondria might be producing some energy, but it’s just going to completely into protection, into letting the rest of the body know that we just need to shut down conserve. I wanna share with you this very moving piece of artwork that one of our own primal trust members created.
So thank you TriNet Reid for allowing us to use this piece of artwork to have a real felt sense of what dorsal vagal shutdown might be like. Again, there’s just too much parasympathetic activity to the point where we are just collapsed We’re at the very bottom of the ladder. And this is what it might feel like. So take a moment to feel into this representation. And define compassion for what it might be like when we or others have fallen to the bottom of the ladder.
Some feelings that come to mind as I look at this image is I’m alone with my despair. I’m alone with not knowing, not feeling almost a sense of not being This is a difficult state to be in. But it is possible to move out of it. Moving forward, moving out of dorsal vagal a mindset shift needed to move up the ladder. So you might say to herself, even though I feel shame loneliness and in despair.
I can connect with nature or animals even when I feel alone. I’ll commit to looking for beauty in the world. I’m willing to ask for help. I know I have resources I can choose to connect with. I’m willing to move my body even a little bit, even though I feel numb and lost.
I can breathe and be present with myself in this moment. And although these feelings feel very real, The meaning right now is a brain state that can shift over time. I want to move on to talking about the blended states of the Polyvago ladder. The first blended state is what I call play an excitement. You see over here in between the top of the ladder of dental, vagal, and sympathetic, Ventral vagal is a mixture of safe plus go.
The second blended state would be stillness, which is a mixture of ventral vagal, top of the ladder, and dorsal vagal bottom of the ladder, And that is parasympathetic dominant, but feeling safe. And the 3rd blended state is often known as the Freeze Response. Freeze is not purely sympathetic. It’s a mixture of sympathetic and dorsal vagal, a mixture of go and stop at the same time, a mixture of the foot on the gas, and the foot on the break. So these are a few of the blended states.
Lastly, this is a summary slide of another way of looking at the polyvaggle map. And this is all about getting awareness. This whole module is about gaining understanding of the state of your nervous system. And so I’m hoping that after watching this module, you’ll have an understanding of which state you’re in. And sometimes, yes, you might have a blended day or you might move from different states throughout the day.
Take a moment as you look at this diagram to discern, where are you? Are you in the ventral vagal parasympathetic dominant of safety and connection? Are you in the middle in the sympathetic fight fight? Or in the dorsal vagal shutdown, where you don’t feel safe and you’re just collapsed. So these are the 3 circuits of the polyvaggle map.
Some final notes on polyvaggle awareness It might be difficult to just switch to, I’m safe and okay. Yes. That’s true. But your task is to apply the tools and the strategies in the following modules to exercise the neurology of your brain and your nervous system so that you can build the capacity. To handle stress and move up that ladder into the ventral bagel safety.
Even when life or your brain is imperfect, and this capacity to find safety, amidst stress, will allow your body chemistry to return to the healing dose chemistry. Your rest, digest, and repair physiology can turn back on. Remember, in order for the body to self heal, the parasympathetic nervous system must be switched on, but in an optimal way. We need to find that ventral bagel safety and a healthy dose of sympathetic activity and a healthy dose of dorsal vagal rest and stillness. So in this program, we’re gonna learn the tools to switch on the feeling of I’m okay.
This will help send messages of safety to your brain and body. And this is meant to be a self directed process, meaning you have to take the responsibility to do these practices and to teach your brain and nervous system. Just listening to this video will not be enough. In the next video lesson, I’m gonna discuss why we might feel worse before we get better. Because there’s often a bumpy ride of climbing up that ladder.
17:40So I will see you in the next video.