Polyvagal Theory 101: The Key to Healing Anxiety

Your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is the foundation for all your lived experience, including anxiety. Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, is a framework that helps us understand the intricate connections between the ANS and our emotional, mental and physical well-being.

Understanding what your ANS is, how it works and how it creates your experience of anxiety (through the lens of Polyvagal Theory) is integral to the healing process. When we don’t understand anxiety, we have a tendency to fear it. Consider your own experience for a moment - have you ever had anxiety about your anxiety? Maybe the alarm bells go off as you think, “What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling like this?”. If this resonates for you, this reaction makes sense - anxiety can feel really scary and overwhelming. However, the challenge here is that responding to our anxiety with fear makes our anxiety grow bigger in the moment and leads to more anxiety over the long run. The good news is that when we know what is happening within our body and why it is happening, this fear begins to dissolve and paves the way for healing. And all of this starts with having a solid understanding of what your ANS is.

Polyvagal Theory & The Autonomic Nervous System

The Autonomic Nervous System’s (ANS) is an intricate and sophisticated network of nerves in the body. It is responsible for automatically controlling and regulating the systems in your body that function without your conscious awareness, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion. Its number one job is to keep us safe and alive.

The ANS is divided into two main branches:

1. The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

2. The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Generally speaking, the SNS increases arousal within the system (like the gas pedal in the car) and the PNS decreases arousal within the system (like the brake in the car). But it’s actually more complicated than this. According to Polyvagal Theory, our PNS is made up of two different brake systems: the Ventral Vagal Complex (VVC) and the Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC). Both of these systems slow things down in our system (just like a brake in a car), but they do so in different ways.

Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, our ANS actually has three main branches or ‘neural circuits’:

1. The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

2. The Ventral Vagal Complex (VVC) of the Parasympathetic Nervous System

3. The Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC) of the Parasympathetic Nervous System

Each of these three branches of the ANS operate like ‘dials’ - they can be turned up just a little or a lot, creating a spectrum of responses.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The SNS is the ‘mobilizing’ part of our nervous system. When the SNS dial is turned up a little, it helps us ‘get up and go’ and gives us the energy we need to meet the demands of our day. For example, the SNS is what allows us to walk, exercise, work, play, cook, etc. The SNS is also the part of our nervous system that regulates the Fight-or-Flight (stress) response, which is a primal survival mechanism designed to protect you by enabling you to either fight or run when in danger. The Fight-or-Flight response occurs when the SNS dial is turned up a lot - meaning, the gas pedal is to the metal. It’s a highly energized and adrenalized state. This survival response serves us well when we are faced with real, imminent danger like when you’re driving and need to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

Ventral Vagal Complex (Parasympathetic Nervous System)

The VVC of the Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for us feeling safe, grounded and social. It is also referred to as our Social Engagement System. The VVC is a gentle brake system; it slows the heart down and supports connection.

Dorsal Vagal Complex (Parasympathetic Nervous System)

The DVC of the Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for immobilization and it does this in two ways. When the DVC dial is turned up high (also called high tone dorsal), we experience another set of survival responses: Freeze and Collapse. When our ANS perceives threat or danger, the first line of defense is Fight-or-Flight. But if Fight-or-Flight is not a viable option (meaning, we are not able to defend or protect ourselves by fighting or running away), our nervous system will slam on the brakes, and go into a Freeze or Collapse response. In essence, our DVC conserves energy and attempts to protect us through ‘immobilization’. We would want to go into this state of conservation to help keep us alive if we were to seriously injure ourselves. Oxygen is low, metabolism is low, heart rate slows, and blood moves away from extremities to the core to try and decrease blood loss - all of which happens to preserve our life.

And when our DVC dial is on low (also called low tone dorsal), we experience true rest and digest. Instead of the brakes being slammed on, low tone DVC is a more gentle braking. In low tone DVC, we experience deep rest and cellular repair. It is a state of immobility we experience, but without fear or stress. We want to be in ‘low-tone dorsal’ after we eat, when we’re relaxing and when we sleep.

Polyvagal Theory & Anxiety

So what does this all mean for healing anxiety? Anxiety is typically the result of a dysregulated nervous system in which there is too much SNS activation. This means that people who struggle with chronic anxiety are stuck in a state of hyperarousal, where their Fight-or-Flight response is constantly activated. The result is that they feel chronically unsafe and hypervigilant, always on the lookout for the ‘bad thing’ that might happen. While we need our Fight-or-Flight response to stay safe, we don’t want it to be on 24/7.

When we understand that nervous system dysregulation is at the root of anxiety, it gives us a blueprint for how to heal. Healing anxiety requires that we grow ‘capacity’ in our nervous system. Capacity is our ability to sense and be with intense emotions and physical sensations. As we build capacity, we create more space for the excess SNS activation (Fight-or-Flight) to release organically. In turn, this helps our body come down and out of survival mode.

Healing chronic anxiety is possible. And the very first step in healing is empowering yourself with the right information. To learn more, check out my free webinar.