M2 : Lesson 4 – Summary/ Homework: Creating your own resource guide. PLUS Q&A
Please be sure to have printed your module 2 workbook (found under the first lesson: “module 2 materials/workbook”)
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MODULES ARE RELEASED EACH WEEK FROM WHEN YOU JOINED
View All Regulate™ Q&As with Cathleen King, DPT Here
Transcript
Module 2 lesson 4, summary of module 2 and homework instructions with the worksheets. Please make sure that you’ve printed out the workbook for module 2 that contains worksheets 1 through 4. Let’s go over a summary of what we learned in module 2. In other words, what is your new awareness? We learn more about the vagus nerve, how it decreases the sympathetic stress response when it is functioning properly, and the vagus nerve is what activates our parasympathetic, rest, digest, and healing mode.
It’s what helps to activate the feeling of I am okay. In other words, we need healthy vagus function to assist in the self healing, and that is why in the next module, module 3, we will go over some vagus toning exercises. We also learned about the polyvagal ladder and how to map the current state of your nervous system. We went over ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal activation sites, and learn what the different types of activation might feel like in the body to start creating more awareness of our polyvagal state. With this awareness, we learned that as we move up the ladder towards ventral vagal or as we move out of dorsal vagal, it can feel rocky.
We might feel a little worse before better as we ride the polyvagal wave of regulation. We learned that it’s normal to have some sympathetic spike activity, like anxiety, anger, insomnia. As our body starts to free up its life force that’s been stagnant. And the homework, well, we’re gonna go over that more in a moment with the worksheets. It’s all about creating a resource guide to help you climb up the ladder of safety, especially when you’re feeling triggered.
Let’s go over what the worksheets are in the work book just to make sure you are aware of what we’re gonna be discussing next. In the workbook, we have 4 worksheets. 3 of them are from lesson 2, and the last 1 was from lesson 3. So have those ready. And the other piece of homework for module 2 of regulate is to continue with the exercise we learned in module 1.
Your awareness, pattern interrupt, and be here now practice that I recommend you do often throughout the day, especially when you’re noticing that you’re ruminating or in resistance. Now that we’ve done module 2, you’ll be able to add the awareness of what your body or your polyvagal state is into this practice, and I’ll go over this in a moment. Overall, after module 2, be thinking, where am I on the polyvagal ladder? What is the activation state of my nervous system? So the goal here after module 2 is to become aware of both the thoughts in your head that are stress producing like we did in module 1, but also what your current state of activation is in your body.
So that in your pattern interrupt practice you can become present to what was happening in your head and now what’s happening in your body. Oh, I’m in sympathetic activation or I feel dorsal vagal collapse right now. 1 more thing I’d love to go over before we move on to the worksheets are addressing some common questions that are asked after the first couple of weeks of doing regulate. Firstly, why is there only been 1 tool so far? We only have our awareness and pattern interrupt practice.
Why aren’t we learning more tools earlier? Well, that’s a good question. The reason is that I have found in other programs that when you go into the program and you’re looking for that quick fix, that tool to fix you, you’re first of all approaching the tool from a mindset that’s unhealthy. In other words, you’re in the I’m not okay feeling, and you’re quickly learning the tool to implement it so that it will get your symptoms to go away, which continues the stress cycle. So my strategy is to work on awareness.
So the second question is why all of this awareness work in science? This is to help your conscious and your subconscious mind understand what’s actually happening with you so that when you use your tools, you’ll be using them with a more appropriate mindset. I will go over this more in module 3, the appropriate use of nervous system tools. The other thing that I’d like to say about awareness is that I find that a lot of people who start a new program, they’ll start using tools, and it can sometimes trigger them. They can get patterns of resistance.
Their brain, their body might have all sorts of, new feelings that happen because as you learn from module 2, as you move up the ladder of safety or as you move out of dorsal vagal, sometimes we can feel worse before better. And if we don’t understand what might be happening with us, we might think the tool is bad, or we might think that there’s a problem with the tool without actually understanding that our nervous system is adjusting to all of the new input. So for this reason, the way I’ve created regulate is to give you a really solid foundation of awareness, of science, and 1 tool to begin to prepare your conscious mind to notice the state of your mind, the state of your body. This is your awareness pattern interrupt practice, and to practice coming into the present moment, noticing all the details around you like we did with that first tool. This is because a lot of times the limbic system and our protective nervous system is actually trying to keep us out of the present moment.
And so we’re gonna start to carefully come back into the present moment to prepare you for brain retraining, to prepare you for the somatic movement practices. So it’s all very purposeful that I have you slowly working into the toolkit and more working through the awareness and getting these worksheets filled out so that you understand what’s happening to you on a nervous system level. So what should you be doing all week while you wait for the next module? Continue with your pattern interrupt practice. Become aware of where your nervous system is at right now.
Maybe even rewatch some of the videos that you might have skipped through. And now that you have more understanding, the earlier videos will even make more sense. So in this meantime, you have a lot of awareness work. And with that awareness, let’s move on to the worksheets. These worksheets, again, are about helping you have a resource guide within you of what’s happening inside your body and what you can do about it as you work through the program.
Again, these are in your workbook. Please print them out before continuing forward with this section, please. Let’s start with worksheet number 1. I’m gonna try to walk you through this as best I can. Obviously, the worksheets are a bit detailed, so you’re gonna need to follow along as I explain this to you.
In module 2, I had 3 different types of maps for you to look at. The first 1 was the ladder off to the right. I also showed you the brain map off to the left and the polyvagal wave. All of these basically represent the same overall concept that you have 3 major activation states in your nervous system, and that as you move in between different states of activation, you often have to move through sympathetic fight or flight. So that is the overall reason why we’re showing you these maps so that you understand that as your body starts to heal, you might have some symptoms.
So look at this map, become familiar with it, get a good understanding of the difference in those 3 different autonomic states. With that map, let’s begin worksheet number 1. At the upper left of worksheet number 1, we’re gonna focus on that section for right now. Awareness, mapping out your personal pattern of responding to the world. So get a pen and do this along with me.
Please pause the video as you need to. Your first task is to identify what each activation state feels like in your body. In other words, this first part here, ventral vagal social engagement. Think of a time when you felt safe and you were interested in connecting with others. Take a moment to write down, what did that feel like in your body?
Or maybe what was the state of your mind when you felt safe to connect? What does that feel like? So write that down, and then continue on. The next question is, what is safe parasympathetic stillness feel like? In other words, this is a mixed state of when you’re in ventral vagal connection, but you’re also in healthy dorsal vagal parasympathetic activity.
What does it feel like in your body when you feel deeply relaxed and content to just be by yourself? Take a moment to write that down. Again, pausing this video as you need to. After that, moving on to the 3rd question, sympathetic activation. When you’re overactivated and stressed, what does your body feel like?
When you’re feeling anxious or in a hurry or fight flight or angry, what is the feelings in your body? And you might be adding to this list as we go through the program, as you get more aware, but just start with what does it feel like. And the last part of question a is dorsal vagal feeling unsafe in parasympathetic shutdown. What does it feel like if you are in a hopeless despair or you’re feeling immobilized? What is the feeling in your body?
Try to become aware of that. And, you know, for some of these, you might not even know. There might not even be the awareness built up, and that’s okay. We’ll learn more about that, especially as we go through module 5. But for now, I’d like you to just start asking these questions, and we’re gonna continue to build on these answers throughout the program.
They’re very important as part of your nervous system self regulation work. Now the second part of part a is a daily awareness practice, where I recommend that you take moments throughout your day and discern where you’re at on that polyvagal ladder of safety. Maybe you notice you have some of the blended states of play or freeze. Just start jotting those down or in your awareness pattern interrupt practice throughout the day, just say where you’re at on that polyvagal ladder. Now the next part of worksheet number 1, part b, over here on the right, we’re going to work on identifying your triggers that are leading to a stress response activation.
So, for example, what causes you to go into a sympathetic activation? Maybe it’s things like a fight with your boss or your spouse or a new symptom that scares you, or maybe when you don’t sleep or you’ve got to speak in front of people. So write down this first question is, I get sympathetic fight or flight activation when try to think of this. When do you get activated? This is part of your awareness, and just write that down.
And when you’re done with that, move on to question 2 under part b. Again, pause this video as you need to. But what causes you to go into dorsal vagal shutdown, which is when you just feel completely hopeless, tired, fatigued? What does it take to push you past the point of even wanting to try? What makes you wanna give up?
So writing down now, I go into collapse or shut down when when does that happen? And when you complete this worksheet, this is ultimately to help you become self aware. And with self awareness, we learn how to regulate. We learn how to use our tools. You’re gonna learn a lot of tools in the regulate program, and I’m needing for you to learn different states of activation so that you will be able to know which tool to use when as we go through the program.
Moving on now to worksheet number 2, part a. Part a is all about tips of how to navigate through your autonomic state into ventral vagal safety. Basically, how can I move up the ladder? So I’m gonna present a few tips here. And with these tips, the second part of worksheet number 2, you’re gonna come up with a game plan to help you move up the ladder when you feel stressed or triggered.
So a few examples that I give to help you move up the ladder, things that can help are making eye contact while you’re talking with somebody, Pausing and taking a deep breath while talking. Listening to every word someone says with curiosity, feeling, and connecting with your own emotions while you are with others, Also, noticing and feeling the expressions on your own face while talking with others. Using a calm tone of voice, like a loving mother or a cheerful person, smiling and laughing, Petting an animal. Calling a friend. Looking at the world with wonder and awe.
We’ll learn more about this in the orienting practice in module 5. Now if you’re in dorsal vagal, which means you’re just shut down, ask yourself, how could I enlist or resource help from another? Or maybe in dorsal vagal, you could ask yourself, how can I move my body in ways that feel safe but relaxed right now? Or if you’re in sympathetic, in anxiety, or anger, you might ask, what can I do with another person that feels playful and enjoyable? Playing with my kids was really helpful for me when I was stuck in sympathetic anxiety.
In general, you’re gonna learn how to use the tools presented in this program to help you move up the ladder. So that was part a of worksheet number 2. Moving on to part b of worksheet number 2. In this part, you’re gonna create your own reminder sheet. This is something that I recommend that you create and put up on the refrigerator or wherever you need to in your house so that you can see it.
And also know that this cheat sheet that you’re gonna make right now is something you’re gonna be adding to throughout the program. So keep this worksheet out and ready so that you can create more ideas of things that help you come into regulation. Now number 1 of this worksheet, it says make a list of things that help you move out of sympathetic fight or flight. Meaning, what helps you to move out of being triggered and anxious and angry? Some suggestions that I put in the worksheet here are playing and laughing, dancing, but I want you to think of things that you know could help you move out of this type of stress response so that you’re prepared for it.
The second thing I’m gonna ask you to do here, number 2, is to make a list of things that help you to move out of dorsal vagal freeze or shut down. Meaning, when you’re feeling overwhelmed or isolated or depressed or fatigue, what might help you climb up the ladder a little bit? Some suggestions I have in the worksheet involve movement, music, soothing activities, nature, easy social connection. But what is it for you? It’s gonna be individual.
And, again, as you work through the modules, you’re gonna get more ideas. I just want you to start thinking of these things. Maybe you have no idea right now, so just write, I don’t know, but I’m gonna look for ideas as I go through this program. Lastly, as part of worksheet number 2 in your worksheet, you’ll see at the very bottom part c. I don’t have it up here on screen, but if you look through your worksheet part c of worksheet 2, there’s an example from a primal trust graduate of her own worksheet that she kept out to help her move through the different states of activation.
And, again, I just wanna thank TriNet for including her personal experience here of what was helpful for her. So please look through that for some ideas and then create your own list. Okay. Moving on again, worksheet sheet number 3, part a. This worksheet is about mindset statements, meaning things that you would say to yourself if you were starting to regulate.
So these statements, these are our goal statements. Meaning, I’m wanting this program to help you actually find the truth in each of these statements, and to be able to say them to yourself or to feel them. Now the 1 caveat here is that we cannot usually just speak or think these things and have them be true right now. Actually, we need to show ourselves over time that these statements are true. But I want you to be aware of them so that you can start knowing what the goals are of this program and maybe start adding your own statements to this list.
So a few of the statements that I included here that I’d love to go over for you to think about how could this be true or become aware of how you could work towards this in your rewiring practice. 1, I am willing to be with and process difficult emotions and sensations. How can you be willing to start doing that? Especially if you’re somebody who’s avoided emotions or avoids how you feel in your body. 2nd, I make sense.
I understand why my body feels like this. I hope that the teachings in this regulate program are helping you to start feeling like you make sense. 3rd, I validate me. I know why I’m having a stress response. This 1 you’ll probably work towards as you go through both my level 1 and level 2 program.
It’s a very powerful statement as it becomes true over time. 4th, I decide what I need, and I find the resources to meet my needs. This is how you become a self empowered adult. 5th, it’s okay to try and fail. I can try again.
6th, I realize how resilient I am. Despite what’s happened, you start to see how much you’ve been through and how much you’re actually handling it all along. Number 7, I’m willing to release my story, my narrative, and my perspective that’s been holding me back in resistance. Number 8, even though I have this feeling of whatever that feeling is, maybe it’s anxiety or the symptom of maybe it’s stomach pain, I can handle this, and I can still find a way to live my life. That statement of I can handle it.
I am handling it. I’ve always found a way to handle it. It’s so powerful. Moving on. I have resources that I can connect with to co regulate right now.
And lastly, I am willing to be in relationships with others and become part of a community. And although maybe it was in connection that I got hurt in the 1st place, it’s through a healthy, safe connection that I truly heal. Part b of worksheet number 3, continuing on with what self regulation, self talk sounds like over time. So these are some statements that I think help you move from a dorsal vagal shutdown through sympathetic mobilization and eventually into ventral vagal safety. So when you’re in dorsal vagal saying to yourself or finding this truth, I am willing to ask for help and look for resources to help me self regulate.
I can connect with nature or animals even when I feel alone. I can choose to look for beauty in nature or the world outside of me, even though I feel shame and loneliness inside of me. I am willing to slowly move my body, even though I feel numb, lost, and unable. I can breathe and be present with myself at this moment. I can feel these feelings and I still have a choice in how I perceive my situation.
There is more to me than my feelings. I am just stuck in a brain state of shutdown. It’s just a brain state and it can change. Lastly, I am better off and safer moving my body a little more each day. In addition to the self talk, the meditation I presented in module 1 during the meditation break that said, I am inherently okay.
That’s another good 1 to listen to, to help reinforce what positive self talk would be like. Moving on to the last worksheet worksheet number 4, which I titled the bumpy ride cheat sheet. This is 1 to bring out when you’re having symptoms and you’re not sure if it’s okay or not okay. So I want you to read through this cheat sheet because maybe what you’re experiencing is not a bad thing, and use the list in this worksheet to help you evaluate other influences that might be causing your symptoms or your activation. What if what you’re feeling is all just part of the process of healing?
What if you can find more trust in your body’s way of processing the situation? So I’ll just briefly go over this worksheet. Just keep it around as you go through the program. As we went through this in lesson 3, you can have different reasons why you might feel worse or have increased symptoms before you feel better. Of course, the main 1 we’ve talked about is under number 1, going through that sympathetic dominant state or climbing up that polyvagal ladder.
We have to climb through sympathetic activation and release a lot of bound up energy as we move into ventral bagel. And there’s a whole list of things here that can happen. So read through these symptoms. And then when you are in a sympathetic dominant state, write out what your symptoms are so that you can look at this list and wonder, I wonder if I’m actually regulating my nervous system. Like I said, if you’ve been doing your practices, if you’ve been trying to regulate, and all of a sudden you get a sympathetic spike in activity, well, you’re probably climbing up the ladder.
The second thing was the biochemical changes. And what happens when our body has to adjust to a new level of cortisol and adrenaline. And so right out here, what what does it feel like when you start to feel calm? Do you sometimes feel worse physically? Do you sometimes feel like you have no energy even though you’re calm?
Or do you sometimes feel like you’re having a weird withdrawal? Number 3, the suppressed emotions and your beliefs emerging. Read through this list about what can happen as you start to have underlying core beliefs or memories or emotions start to come up as you regulate your nervous system and maybe make a list here. What emotions am I afraid of feeling? So that you know that maybe if you’re getting some symptoms, check-in.
Are you feeling any of these emotions that you’re afraid of? And could that be triggering your limbic system or your nervous system to have some weird reaction to sort of be a decoy to those emotions that you’ve been afraid of feeling? Or feeling? Or maybe there’s some lifestyle changes you’re afraid of making. What are those?
Try to be honest here. As you go through the program, this might become more and more obvious to you. So please keep this list around and add to it. And maybe there’s some beliefs that your brain wants to hold onto even though they cause stress, and letting go of these beliefs could be triggering for you. So this is a little bit of inner work, a bit of contemplation, but it really helps you to become aware of what might trigger a stress response in your body as you attempt to go through this self healing process.
Number 4, remember there could be a parasympathetic healing phase happening, and that’s all sorts of weird symptoms. So in this section, maybe make a list of symptoms that you resist, symptoms that you’re afraid of so that you become aware when you’re having these symptoms, you might be going into a sympathetic stress response and interrupting the healing process. And then think about when you’re starting to maybe detoxify or go through this parasympathetic healing phase, what can you do to stay in a state of safety even though you’re feeling symptoms? Come up with a game plan. And number 5, rushing, going through this program too fast.
Part of why I recommended to watch 1 module a week, no more than that is to help pace you through the program. So maybe make a little note here. Why are you afraid to slow down and implement 1 process at a time? Why are you afraid to rest and relax during the day? Become very honest with yourself so that you began to know yourself and know why you have different states of activation.
So that concludes module 2. Please take the time to print these things out and go through them. You’re going to need that awareness for the upcoming modules that you know which tool to use when to be able to have a mastery of your own nervous system. The next module, module 3, is all on vagus nerve toning. You’ll be learning some great simple tools and practices to begin to calm the nervous system down.
29:16I will see you in module 3.