Nervous System Regulation

Polyvagal Theory and Nervous System Regulation

Have you ever found yourself suddenly overwhelmed, shut down, or reactive in a way you couldn’t explain? That’s not weakness or failure—it’s your nervous system trying to protect you. In therapy, we often focus on healing the mind and emotions—but your body’s automatic responses are just as important.

This is where Polyvagal Theory comes in—a powerful, science-backed way of understanding how your body reacts to the world and how you can learn to feel safe, connected, and in control again.

Understanding Your Body’s Reactions and Pathways to Healing

What is Polyvagal Theory?

Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and translated into therapy by Deb Dana, gives us a framework to understand how your autonomic nervous system (the part that controls things like heart rate, breathing, and digestion) responds to feelings of safety or danger—often before you’re even aware of it.

Deb Dana’s work (2018) focuses on making this science practical—helping you recognize your body's signals and use simple tools to shift toward regulation, healing, and connection.

Understanding Your Nervous System

Deb Dana uses a helpful metaphor of a ladder to describe your nervous system's three main states. These states are not “good or bad,” but your body’s way of protecting you based on what it senses.

🟢 Top of the Ladder: Ventral Vagal – Safe, Social, Engaged

When you are in this state, you feel:

Calm, curious, and connected
Able to think clearly and communicate
Open to others, creative, and hopeful
Like yourself

In this state, your body senses safety. This is the ideal space for healing, therapy, learning, and relationships.

🟡 Middle of the Ladder: Sympathetic – Fight or Flight

In this state, your nervous system senses danger, and it prepares you to act. You may feel:

Anxious, irritable, or angry
On edge, unable to rest
Like you have to fix everything or escape

You might experience racing thoughts, tension in your body, or hypervigilance.

🔴 Bottom of the Ladder: Dorsal Vagal – Shut Down or Numb

When your nervous system senses life threat or extreme overwhelm, it may move into shutdown. You might feel:

Exhausted, numb, or “not really here”
Disconnected from people or even your own emotions
Hopeless or frozen
Like you’re watching life from the outside

This state can feel scary or confusing, but it’s actually your body’s survival strategy when things feel too much to handle.

Why This Matters in Therapy?

Understanding these states helps you recognize that your reactions aren’t random—they’re your body’s way of trying to keep you safe. But if you’ve been through trauma, high stress, or lived in unsafe environments, your nervous system may get stuck in survival mode.

Therapy using Deb Dana’s polyvagal approach helps you:

Identify where you are on your ladder
Learn what moves you up or down
Develop strategies to return to regulation (ventral vagal)
Build a greater sense of safety and trust in your body

This work isn’t about talking yourself out of a feeling. It’s about listening to your body’s story with compassion and learning what it needs to feel safe again.

What To Expect?

Working with this approach is gentle, empowering, and experiential. It includes:

Mapping Your Nervous System

You’ll create a personal “map” of how your body responds to stress and safety. We’ll explore:

What cues make you feel safe?
What signals threat (even if it’s subtle)?
What are your body's patterns when overwhelmed?

Building a Regulation Toolkit

We’ll experiment with different nervous system regulation tools, such as:

Breath practices (like extending your exhale)
Grounding exercises using your senses
Noticing your states and recognizing state shifts
Identifying sources of shifts and reclaim control of your present moment
Safe imagery or "glimmers" (tiny moments of safety and joy)
Co-regulation (connecting with others in safe ways)

There is no “one-size-fits-all”—you’ll discover what works best for your unique nervous system.

Strengthening Connection

We’re wired to heal in relationship. Therapy becomes a safe place to practice:

Feeling seen and understood
Navigating conflict without collapse or aggression
Rebuilding trust in yourself and others

Healing the heart. Strengthening the soul. Courage for life.