Polyvagal Theory: The Science of Safety.

Now more than ever we are all feeling a bit unsafe. Lost jobs, sick loved ones, closed businesses and just the overall uncertainty in our world right now has us desperately seeking safety. 

Perhaps knowing the how and why behind our feelings can help us gain some perspective and sense of calm during this challenging time. 

We can gain a deeper understanding of how we react to feeling unsafe by viewing our nervous system through the fascinating lens of The Polyvagal Theory. 

This “Science of Safety” explores how our Nervous System works and explains how humans respond in service of survival to cues of safety and danger. 

Quick biology refresh- there are 2 branches of the Autonomic (or Automatic) Nervous system - 1-the sympathetic (traditionally thought of as flight or fight mode) and 2-the parasympathetic branch (the safe and social mode). 

However, the Polyvagal Theory teaches us that the Sympathetic branch is more complex than once thought- its not just flight or fight- there is actually a 3rd response to danger-  shut down mode. If we cannot run away or fight, we drop into shut down. 

And it doesn’t matter if the threat is real or imagined because the blessing/curse of being human is that we are able to make our thoughts into our reality. 

We have all experienced the physical manifestations of fear, anxiety and worry- our thoughts alone can spin us into our flight, fight or shut down survival modes. 

Know that whether real or imagined your body’s reaction to stress is normal. This defensive state is a product of evolution. There is nothing wrong with you -its just your body trying to keep you safe. 

So the Polyvagal Theory can help us gain some awareness of how we are feeling and physically responding to challenging times. 

If you feel paralyzed with sadness you are probably in shut down mode, if you feel angry you may be in fight mode and if you feel like you have to keep busy all the time you are most in flight mode. 

And awareness is power. Awareness allows you to let go of the self judgement and allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling. 

Understand the Science of Safety and try to accept where you are.

That is the first step on the way to moving through this.