Polyvagal Theory
Dr. Stephen Porges developed Polyvagal Theory, a theory that helps us understand how healing the pathways of the vagus nerve helps with emotional and physical challenges we experience. The vagus nerve is actually a system of nerves that starts in our brain and winds throughout our bodies. There are two parts of the vagus nerve:
The Ventral (Front) Vagus Nerve
The Dorsal (Back) Vagus Nerve
When you are not in a state of threat, your Ventral Vagus Nerve allows you to be present and connect with yourself, other people, animals, and nature. Learn more about the mental and physical aspects of this state by examining the green part of the chart below.
When you feel threatened, your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is activated, causing you to go into a state of “fight or flight.” Usually, when people talk about stress, they are describing the actions of the SNS. People often come to therapy because they have a sympathetic nervous system that is frequently in a state of threat, causing many people to feel ongoing anxiety, irritability, or both. If you are a parent bringing in your child for behavioral issues or in a relationship where there is a high level of conflict, the SNS is responsible. In the chart below, you can see descriptions of what happens in this state in the yellow part of the chart below.
When you are exposed to prolonged threat that is not easy to escape, your dorsal vagus nerve shuts down your emotions and your experience of your body. When you’re not in a state of threat, the Dorsal Vagus nerve helps you to sleep and digest your food. When you in a state of dorsal vagal shutdown, there tends to be sleep and digestion disruptions as well as any number of health conditions related to inflammation and the immune system. If you are in therapy due to depression, feeling disconnected from others, numbness, or dissociation, your problems are related to your dorsal vagus nerve. You can learn more about this state in the red part of the chart below.
If you experience significant stress in the early years of your life, especially in your family of origin, you like alternate between states of sympathetic activation and dorsal vagal shutdown. This can happen even in the absence of physical or sexual abuse.
The good news is that healing is possible. Understanding polyvagal theory helps us to understand the physiological basis healing power not only of psychotherapy, but also music, meditation, animals, time in nature, and healthy relationships.
