fight flight ze fawn flop friend fatigue

We continue with this practice until the time seems right for “safe” engagement with the core distress of trauma, using methods of Imaginal Space (spontaneous state of being) in a contained environment. Such activities engage the sympathetic nervous system in ways that facilitate self-regulation by expanding the window of tolerance to stress. Activities that enhance self-regulation through spontaneity, movement, and sensory integration. Experiencing Spontaneity (Ventral Vagal + Sympathetic).(See this post about Attunement and Love in trauma therapy.) The experience of being attuned to in a predictable, repetitive, safe, and loving way is a powerful antidote to Withdrawal. The ideal strategy is engaging in an attuned relationship, preferably with a therapist, in order to reconnect to (or discover for the first time) the experience of feeling safe in a relationship.

This state engages the Social Nervous System with the Dorsal Vagal. Experiencing Intimacy (Ventral Vagal + Dorsal Vagal).In PLV terms, this state is called stillness. While the survivor is still immobilized with withdrawal, she feels safe enough to take action and move ahead in the trauma integration process. (See this post about redefining resilience.) Recognizing these resources survivors carry can be an important step in the process of trauma integration. Few survivors credit themselves for being creative for trying one thing after another in an attempt to feel better. Few survivors recognize the courage, persistence, determination, and perseverance they are displaying hour by hour just to perform the basics of life. Often just getting out of bed requires great courage for survivors who know they will be greeted with painful reminders of the past. It is hard to overstate the degree to which Withdrawal reduces a survivor’s awareness of resources, both their own and those around them, for surviving during and after trauma. Making a conscious choice to recognize and acknowledge resources. Act of Self-Reflection (Ventral Vagal + Dorsal Vagal).Three kinds of actions can be considered: From a PLV theory perspective, the three kinds of Action usually engage with more than one Vagal pathway, so we should view it as also a mixed state. The Ubiquity of Trauma and the Role of Community Healing Stage Five: ActionĪction involves a conscious choice to use resources available to the survivor to act. They are at high risk for addictions, autoimmune conditions, and other chronic illnesses. Survivors struggle with a chronic sense of isolation and cycles of shame, guilt, and feelings of worthlessness. In such circumstances, what began as a temporary reaction takes up permanent occupation in the nervous system, and shows up as numbness, depression, or dissociation (possible DID), as well as complex life patterns built around the resulting dysfunctions. This happens when people are exposed to ongoing stress or multiple traumatic experiences, or when they have a history of developmental (early life) trauma. When an individual’s fear response gets triggered over and over again, withdrawal becomes deeply wired into being. Anger, fear, anxiety, and panic are common, as is difficulty with attention and focus. In this state, survivors continue to feel flooded, “on edge,' unable to sit still. Situations of perceived threat can easily trigger this stress reaction and life becomes very hard for survivors.

Survivors don’t respond to situations they encounter, they react in panic. Survival mechanisms respond by taking over the brain, temporarily setting aside logic and reason. Anything that looks, sounds, smells, or feels like things experienced at the time of trauma can trigger fear that danger has returned. This is a later response, long after the immediate threat is gone, that occurs occasionally when anxiety is triggered by specific reminders of trauma. Without this instinct, we’d never remove ourselves from danger. Moving away from immediate danger is an instinctive, life-giving response. Instinctive Withdrawal (Sympathetic + Dorsal Vagal).

Applying Polyvagal Theory to the concept of Withdrawal, we can recognize three different kinds of withdrawal, and many survivors vacillate back and forth between them:

Fight flight ze fawn flop friend fatigue