Here ’ s a summary of this perspective on the ANS :
Parasympathetic / Ventral Vagal state — our centred ' true self ' state , where all authentic social interaction , connection and cognition occurs . Feeling safe .
Sympathetic state — sensing threat or danger via neuroception , and feeling the need to either ' fight ' or ' flee ' from a situation to seek safety .
Dorsal Vagal state — we sense our safety is so immediately threatened that we shut down and collapse . ' Freezing ' is a hybrid state between this Dorsal Vagal state and the sympathetic state .
The dynamic interplay between these three is well illustrated in Figure 2 .
Perhaps what ’ s most exciting about Polyvagal theory is that it not only provides a comprehensive description of the vagus nerve and its various functions but it ’ s also prescriptive , if you like , of approaches that remedy autonomic , and sensory-motor , dysfunctions . The approach is largely ' bottom up ', or through the body , rather than ' top down ', which is more the domain of psychology and psychiatry via talk therapy and drugs . At unite , and the associated group iLs ( Integrated Listening Systems ), both of which work to make Porges ’ s Polyvagal approaches widely available , there is acknowledgement that top down has its place but also a recognition of the ways in which those approaches in isolation have failed many people with PTSD , trauma , learning difficulties and sensory motor disorders .( 18 ).
Bottom up approaches include the Somatic Experiencing ( SE ) work developed by Peter Levine , a noninvasive listening therapy called the Safe and Sound Protocol ( SSP ), Dr Bessel van der Kol ’ s trauma resolution exercises ( as well as the other therapies he recommends like Structural Integration and yoga ) and Pat Ogden ’ s Sensorimotor Psychotherapy , plus many others .
In conclusion , it seems important to place these theories and practices regarding the restoration of more adequate and fulfilling autonomic functions , and the lessening of the actions and attitudes that drive dysfunction , into societal contexts . Numerous authors – Cannon , Crookshank , Selye , James , Hannah , Rolf – have argued , from their different places in history , that the pace of life and the values developed in capitalist economies lead to nervous system overwhelm generally , with exhaustion , breakdown and dissociation the outcome for many individuals . As the Scottish historian John Buchan so adroitly observed : ' capital has no conscience and has no fatherland '.( 19 )
Figure 2 . Polyvagal theory chart of trauma response . ( Used with permission : From Ruby Jo Walker LCSW , SEP , CHT https :// www . rubyjowalker . com /)
22 | vol29 | no1 | JATMS