Polyvagal Theory: The 3 States of Anxiety in the Nervous System

Video Description

Discover Polyvagal Theory's 3 anxiety states—ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal. Learn how to regulate your nervous system for better mental health. Join Therapy in a Nutshell’s membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership You'll get instant access to all 10 life-changing courses, live weekly Q&As, and a supportive community for just $27/month. Learn how to manage anxiety, process trauma, regulate emotions, and build lasting resilience so that you can live a deeply rich and meaningful life! Looking for affordable online therapy? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Do you ever feel hopeless, shut down, or walled off? Or do you get triggered and feel anxious, angry, or agitated? There are essentially 3 states of your nervous system: Ventral Vagal (Safe and social) Sympathetic (Fight or Flight) and Dorsal Vagal (Shut Down). Most people aren’t able to identify which state they’re in, and then they feel helpless to change. This is especially difficult for people with trauma, which includes about ⅓ of the population. When you have trauma, your nervous system can get stuck in a hypervigilant state or a frozen, numb state. And when you can identify the states of your nervous system, you can learn skills to spend more time in the safe and social state of your nervous system. You can retrain your nervous system to be healthier. One approach to learning how to feel safe in your body is the Polyvagal approach. It’s known as the science of feeling safe. The researchers and clinicians who developed polyvagal therapy have developed a system to help people learn to turn on that safe feeling in your body, so that you can feel more calm, have better relationships, and make better choices. In this video you’re going to learn the three states that your nervous system can be in according to polyvagal theory. This will help you learn to identify what state you’re in and then use self-regulatory skills to shift your nervous system to a state of safety. 0:00 Introduction to trauma in the nervous system 2:18 What is polyvagal theory for treating trauma/childhood trauma? 5:54 Ventral vagal state 6:44 Sympathetic state 8:30 Dorsal vagal state 10:21 How to move up the ladder/somatic treatments for trauma Click the link below to access the transcript: https://therapyinanutshell.com/the-3-states-of-anxiety-in-the-nervous-system/ Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/?utm_medium=YTDescription&utm_source=YouTube Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/free-resources Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books Check out my podcast, Therapy in a Nutshell: https://tinpodcast.podbean.com/ Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC 00:00 Introduction 02:16 Polyvagal Theory 03:57 The Vagus Nerve 05:36 The Polyvagal Ladder Metaphor 05:54 #1 Safe and Social - Ventral Vagal State 06:44 #2 Fight or Flight - Parasympathetic State 08:30 #3 Shutdown - Dorsal Vagal State - 10:21 Learning to Identify the three polyvagal states