Understanding Your Nervous System: Identifying A Regulated State of Being Using the Wisdom of Your Body.

Polyvagal Theory is the science of connection and feeling safe enough emotionally, mentally, spiritually to fall in love with your life. In our often stressful world, understanding and managing your nervous system is crucial for both personal well-being and interpersonal relationships. At our therapy practice, we leverage insights from polyvagal theory, particularly in distinguishing between regulation and dysregulation. Here’s how this approach can transform your life:

The Polyvagal Perspective

Polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides a framework for understanding our autonomic nervous system’s role in our emotional regulation, social connection, and threat response. This theory identifies three main states:

 

1. 1. Ventral Vagal (Safe and Social): A state of calm, peace and connection.

1. 1. Sympathetic (Fight or Flight): An activated state of mobilization.

1. 1. Dorsal Vagal (Freeze): A state of shutdown or disconnection.

Recognizing Regulation vs. Dysregulation

Regulation: When you’re regulated, you’re operating primarily from your ventral vagal state. Signs include:

 

• • Feeling calm and grounded

• • Ability to think clearly and make rational decisions

• • Ease in social interactions and relationships

• • Resilience in the face of challenges

• • Balanced emotional responses

Dysregulation: Dysregulation occurs when you’re stuck in sympathetic arousal or dorsal vagal shutdown. Signs include:

 

• • Feeling anxious, panicked, or overly agitated (sympathetic)

• • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

• • Overreacting to minor stressors

• • Feeling numb, disconnected, or unmotivated (dorsal vagal)

• • Physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating, or fatigue

How integrative somatic Therapy Approach Helps

 

1. 1. Nervous System Education: We provide in-depth psycho-education, and learn to tune in, listen and interpret your body’s signals more accurately.

1. 1. Learn to recognize subtle cues that indicate your current nervous system state. This awareness is the first step in managing your responses effectively.

1. 1. Regulation Strategies: We offer tailored techniques to help you shift from dysregulation to regulation. These may include breathing exercises, grounding techniques, and specific physical movements.

1. 1. Trigger Mapping: We work with you to identify specific scenarios in your life that tend to trigger dysregulation, allowing you to prepare and respond more effectively.

1. 1. Micro-practice Implementation: Learn to develop small, manageable practices that you can implement throughout your day to maintain regulation, even in stressful environments.

1. 1. Relational Techniques: Understanding your body improves your ability to read and respond to others’ states, enhancing your relationships and interpersonal skills.

The Benefits of Nervous System Awareness

By mastering the ability to recognize and shift your nervous system states, you gain significant advantages in various aspects of life:

 

• • Improved decision-making under pressure

• • Enhanced stress management

• • Better emotional regulation during challenging situations

• • Increased resilience in the face of life’s challenges

• • Improved interpersonal relationships and communication skills

We believe that understanding your nervous system is as crucial as understanding any other aspect of your health and well-being. By learning to navigate between regulation and dysregulation, you’re not just improving your mental health and self awareness – you’re optimizing your overall life experience.

Practical Applications in Daily Life

This approach can be beneficial in numerous situations:

 

• • Managing work stress and preventing burnout

• • Improving communication in personal relationships

• • Enhancing parenting skills by understanding children’s nervous system states

• • Coping with social anxiety and improving social interactions

• • Managing symptoms of trauma or PTSD

• • Improving sleep quality and overall health

Understanding Trauma Through the Nervous System Lens

Trauma often leaves a lasting impact on the nervous system, causing it to become stuck in states of hyperarousal (sympathetic activation) or shutdown (dorsal vagal). This can lead to a range of symptoms including hypervigilance, emotional reactivity, dissociation, and difficulty feeling safe or connected. By learning to recognize these states, trauma survivors can begin to make sense of their experiences and reactions. Our therapy approach helps trauma-affected individuals to:

 

• • Identify trauma responses as nervous system adaptations rather than personal flaws

• • Develop a sense of safety in their bodies through gentle, trauma-informed practices

• • Learn to pendulate between activation and calmness, gradually expanding their window of tolerance

• • Reconnect with their capacity for social engagement and connection

• • Cultivate self-compassion as they navigate their healing journey

Through this nervous system-informed approach, many trauma survivors find a new pathway to healing, one that honors their experiences and provides tangible tools for regulating their bodies and emotions. This can lead to a greater sense of control, improved relationships, and a renewed ability to engage fuller in life.

How do you know if you are regulated and disregulated in your nervous system?

Imagine two different scenarios. One where you are in a traffic jam and you are late. Your nervous system will be activated and triggered. It will feel very stressful because you do not really want to be in a car in traffic, you worry about being late and wanting to be there already. Now think about a nice summer day at the beach where you are super relaxed, you hear the sounds of the water, you smell the beach and you are just where you want to be; under the palm trees. That is how you can start measuring how your nervous system is  doing. Is it feeling safe or unsafe now?

For more info on polyvagal theory and how it works see this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zrlKLgnov4

An exercise to come into Stillness with your self: Put your hand on your heart and another hand on the back of your neck and breath in two short inhalations and one long exhalation and do this 5x and see how you feel. You can also put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly and do the same breathing. Click here to Contact us for a consult.