Mapping Freedom in the Nervous System

Milou Haskin, MHC

We often come to therapy focused on our thoughts and emotions, sometimes overlooking the body’s role in our experiences. Polyvagal Theory, a framework developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides a roadmap that can help us bridge the connection between the mind and body by offering insight into how our nervous systems respond to the world around us, shaping our experiences. It highlights our biological imperative to connect, the importance of feeling safe and connected in our bodies, and explains how our autonomic nervous system (ANS), plays a crucial role in this process. This approach allows us to address not just our thoughts and emotions, but the physical reactions that underpin them. By acknowledging the body’s role in our emotional experiences and understanding how our ANS operates, we can begin to find our way back to a state of safety and connection in moments of dysregulation.

Polyvagal Theory introduces the idea that the ANS is our body's first responder, constantly scanning our environment for cues of safety or danger. This process, known as neuroception, happens automatically and unconsciously, below the level of our awareness. For instance, if we encounter a situation that feels threatening, our ANS might trigger a fight-or-flight response, elevating our heart rate, even before we have consciously processed the threat. It’s only after this initial bodily reaction that our mind steps in to create a narrative around the experience. This is why our thoughts and feelings might seem disconnected or out of proportion at times—they are often a response to the body’s initial, automatic reaction. As meaning-making humans, we create stories based on our body’s physiological responses that go on to impact our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This framework invites us to step toward a state of well-being by dropping the story of the mind and attending to the body.

Dr. Porges describes the ANS as a hierarchy of responses, which can be visualized as an autonomic ladder. At the top of this ladder is the ventral vagal state, where we feel safe, connected, and socially engaged. This is our "home," the state where we are most ourselves, able to think clearly, see the bigger picture, interact with others, and manage our daily lives with ease. However, when our ANS perceives danger, we may move down the ladder into the sympathetic state, triggering the fight-or-flight response. This state is characterized by heightened anxiety, stress, and a sense of urgency. We may experience anger, a rush of adrenaline, difficulties focusing, and distress in our relationships. In this state, we are more easily triggered and may become stuck in fear-based thoughts. If the threat is too overwhelming and all efforts to take action are unavailable or ineffective, we may fall further down the ladder into the dorsal vagal state, where we shut down and dissociate. This is the body’s last resort, a state of immobilization and collapse meant to protect us when escape isn’t possible. In this state, we may experience numbness, fatigue, hopelessness, and feelings of loneliness or abandonment. When we fall to the bottom of the ladder into the dorsal vagal state the hopelessness that is characteristic of this state of collapse can make us feel like the safety at the top of the ladder is particularly far away or even unreachable.

Understanding where we are on this ladder is crucial for finding our way back "home" to the ventral vagal state of connection and safety. This can allow us to intervene before we feel flooded. With this understanding, we can more readily drop the story running in our minds and attend to our body’s need for safety and regulation. Rather than being in a state of reaction, we can create more space in our responses and act with freedom. Once we are able to access our ventral vagal state, we are better able to choose how we want to respond and step into value-based action rather than emotional reactivity. 

To begin this work, we can create a personal autonomic map, a map of our unique experience of each of these states, to better understand our experience of moving up and down the ladder so that we can be better equipped to identify which autonomic state we are in the moment to moment and what we need to come back “home”.

How do I know that I’m “home” in the ventral vagal state? 
What does connection and safety feel like in my body? 
Is there a color, shape, texture, or image that I associate with this state? 
What do I do in this state? How are my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impacted? 

Moving down the ladder, what are the warning signs that I am beginning to move into a sympathetic state? Perhaps I notice tension in my shoulders, followed by my breath becoming shallow. As I become more familiar with the way each state shows up in my body, I can anticipate what may come next and intervene before I move further down the ladder. For example, as my breath gets more shallow and I sense anxiety rising in my body, I can anticipate that my typical heightened sympathetic response shows up as heat rising in my belly and anger bubbling up soon after. Without intervention, my body mobilizes further, and knowing my personal autonomic map, I know the next step is seeing red, feeling overwhelmed with rage. At this point, my mind has created a story about the driver who just cut me off and how wrong I feel. When I am attuned to where I am on the autonomic ladder, I can step back and make a conscious choice instead of reacting. I can choose to keep feeding the story in my mind and act out of anger, continue moving down the ladder into helplessness and a state of shut down, or pause and regulate my nervous system to begin to find my way “home”. 

By recognizing the signs of moving down the ladder, we can better identify when we need to stop, take a breath, and start to engage in practices that help us climb back up. This might involve grounding techniques, breath work, or other strategies that soothe the nervous system and restore a sense of safety. What we need to move up the ladder from a sympathetic state (fight or flight) versus a dorsal vagal (collapse) state may differ, and effective grounding practices look different for everyone. Adding nervous system regulating practices to your personal autonomic map is a great opportunity to get curious and creative. Explore and play around with practices to see what works for your body in each of these states.

Deepening our understanding of our nervous system through Polyvagal Theory empowers us to integrate the wisdom of our bodies into our daily lives. By paying attention to how our body reacts and understanding the stories our mind creates in response, we can intentionally work towards a more balanced and connected state of being.