The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

Understanding why the nervous system becomes dysregulated – and realising that stress reactions take place outside our conscious control – can help normalise these behaviours and explain why so many of us feel alone when we’re in a crowded room, why we put substances into our body to numb our natural physiological responses, why we lash out, run aw

When the VVC is engaged, it also sends signals down to our heart and lungs, slowing down our heart rate and increasing the depth of breathing. As a result, we feel calm and relaxed, centered, or pleasurably aroused.

an improvement in the responsiveness of the respiratory system, enabling it to meet the needs of changes in effort, emotions and posture; and finally a greater sense of wellbeing that has something to do with the way we engage with the nervous system – both in the way we respond to our internal, physical promptings (hunger, thirst, tiredness etc.),

Happiness, love, and wisdom aren’t furthered by shutting down the SNS, but rather by keeping the autonomic nervous system as a whole in an optimal state of balance: Mainly parasympathetic arousal for a baseline of ease and peacefulness Mild SNS activation for enthusiasm, vitality, and wholesome passions Occasional SNS spikes to deal with demanding