Polyvagal Theory describes the autonomic nervous system as having three subdivisions that relate to social behavior and connection. The oldest of these subdivisions is the “dorsal vagal,” a part of the parasympathetic nervous system that enables us to shut down, or “freeze” when a situation of danger feels uncontrollable and we are overwhelmed. The second is our sympathetic nervous system, or “fight/flight,” system. And the most evolved and complex of the subdivisions, is our mammalian parasympathetic social communication and social engagement system – the ventral vagus. This is a very complex network of fast, myelinated neural fibers originating in the brainstem that dictates our heart rate, breathing, hearing, facial muscles, and vocalizing.
Polyvagal Theory is hierarchical, meaning that all three of these subdivisions follow a natural order depending on the neuroception of safety or danger in the situation. If the environment is detected as safe, we are free to use the ventral vagal social engagement system, which means we are relatively free be ourselves, express our own feelings, use facial expression easily, and use a modulated voice pattern. Also, our heart rate is relatively calm, we breathe freely, and we filter out human language from background noise. Whereas, if we are not detecting the environment as safe, we fall into a fight or flight, survival mode (this is the aforementioned “sympathetic nervous system” taking over). And if that system fails too, and we continue to feel unsafe, we naturally fall back into the freezing or shutting down dorsal vagal mode. In these more primitive modes, much of the aforementioned capacities are turned off, leaving a person with far less ability to relate to the world socially.
When a person is feeling safe—not threatened or in danger—and if her body is healthy and functioning well, she can enjoy a physiological state that supports spontaneous social engagement behaviors. Social engagement, neurologically speaking, is a state based on the activity of five cranial nerves which when working together properly, the activity of these five nerves supports a state that enables social interaction, communication, and appropriate self-soothing behaviors. When we are socially engaged, we can experience feelings of love and friendship. And when individual members of a group can come together and cooperate with others, it enhances everyone’s chances for survival.
Other inherent values derive from social engagement:
bond with each other,
develop friendships,
enjoy intimate sexual relationships;
talk with each other,
care for each other,
work together,
raise families,
tell stories,
play sports,
sing together,
dance together,
And entertain one another.
We enjoy sitting at a table and sharing a meal or a drink with friends and loved ones. Social engagement might arise when a parent puts a child to sleep, lying close and reading a book or telling a story until the child drifts off, or in the intimate moment experienced by two lovers lying close to each other after they have made love. These are some of the important experiences that make us human beings.
When working together properly, the activity of these five nerves supports a state that enables social interaction, communication, and appropriate self-soothing behaviors. When we are socially engaged, we can experience feelings of love and friendship. And when individual members of a group can come together and cooperate with others, it enhances everyone’s chances for survival.: we bond with each other, develop friendships, and enjoy intimate sexual rela-tionships; we communicate, talk with each other, care for each other, work together, raise families, tell stories, play sports, sing together, dance together, and entertain one another. We enjoy sitting at a table and shar-ing a meal or a drink with friends and loved ones. Social engagement might arise when a parent puts a child to sleep, lying close and reading a book or telling a story until the child drifts off, or in the intimate moment experienced by two lovers lying close to each other after they have made love. These are some of the important experiences that make us human beings.
Social interaction is not reserved for our relations with other people. We love our pets, we feed them, and we go for walks with our dogs. We often talk to our pets, and we are quite sure that they understand what we are saying. When they reciprocate with signs of affection, we feel happy. Almost anyone recognizes these activities, experiences, and qualities arising from the state of social engagement. However, these kinds of activities and interactions are neither described nor explained by the old model of the autonomic nervous system.
Being together with others in positive ways is not only facilitated by the social engagement circuit of the autonomic nervous system; positive experiences with others also help us to regulate our autonomic nervous system. When we are together with other people who are socially engaged, we feel better. On the other hand, when we do not have enough positive social interactions with others, we can easily become stressed, depressed, asocial, or even antisocial.
This new understanding of the multifaceted roles of the cranial nerves, and particularly their connection with the state of social engagement, gives us as bodyworkers three ways to work:
1.- Increase awareness of interceptive cues of needs
2.- Increase tenderness and care to self and health behaviours
3.- Differentiate between health symptoms and activation states.
