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Polyvagal Intro

This is the perfect place to start learning quickly and simply about the Polyvagal Theory. Deepen your learning through the links in each section.

Happy learning!

the basic polyvagal idea:

The Polyvagal Theory is the science of how mammals connect, but also how they respond to danger. PVT connects biology to emotion, thought, relationships and more.

A core piece of the Theory is the hypothesis that our bodies can exist in three distinct evolutionary survival states: safety & social engagement, flight & fight mobility and shutdown immobility.

pvt for beginners

primary article

pvt one-pagers

what everyone gets wrong...

safe & social

Allows for social connection, executive functioning, play, stillness, health, growth and restoration.

Active when the external & internal worlds are perceived as safe.

Polyvagal primary states

Mammals can be prepared for safety, mobilization or immobilization.

what is shutdown?

shutdown

how to heal shutdown

still stuck in shutdown?

what "safety" means

primary article

pvt safety & how to use it

safety state spectrum

flight & fight

Survival mode - allows for legs to be used for evasion and upper body for aggression.

 

Active when the internal or external worlds are perceived as being in danger.

Heart rate up, shallow breathing, muscles tense, looking for danger.

what is flight/fight?

flight & fight

book chapter

anger

shutdown

Life threat response - allows for the end of life with little to no pain. Numbing and dissociation allow for possibility of escape.

Active when the internal or external worlds are perceived as life threatening.

Body numbs, dissociation, drop in blood pressure and heart rate.

Polyvagal mixed states

What happens when more than one of the primary states is active at the same time?

play or flight/fight?

play

book chapter

play

To be play, both mammals need to have access to their safe/social state as well as their flight/fight state. If the flight/fight energy becomes too much, it's not play anymore.

stillness

This is the ability to immobilize - to be still - without fear. Including laying down to sleep, practicing yoga or meditation, being intimate and using the restroom, plus more.

stillness or shutdown?

danger in meditation?

book chapter

physical intimacy & trauma

freeze

Freeze is a distinct thing, not just another word for "shutdown."  Freeze is a tense, rigid immobilization compared to a collapsed one in shutdown.

panic & rage as freeze

freeze

shutdown vs freeze

avoiding freeze

more mixed states?

Fawn, appease, and intimacy have all been officially added to the Polyvagal mixed states. But these additions leave interesting questions. Watch the videos below to dive deeper.

fawn & appease

intimacy?

autonomic nervous system

The PVT has everything to do with the Autonomic Nervous System. It's responsible for regulating all the internal stuff you don't need to think about, like: breathing, digestion and heart rate.  When we go into the different primary or mixed states, there are autonomic shifts that take place.