Polyvagal theory exercise

Theory (Polyvagal)

Your dorsal state means both a physical and an emotional drain of energy. The deeper you sink, the emptier you begin to feel. You clearly feel the shift from sympathetic agitation, to losing touch with your own body, thoughts, feelings and behavior. Getting to know and understand your own dorsal experiences well helps you cope better with these experiences and be less afraid of a dorsal moment. 

Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to get to know yourself when you are in danger of falling into a dorsal survival reaction. Think back to a (recent) moment when you felt a dorsal survival reaction coming on, where you lost connection with yourself and collapsed. 

Body: Focus your attention on your body, how does your body make you feel that you are losing energy? Where do you feel that in your body?  

Head: Listen to the emerging thoughts. In such a moment, what do you think about yourself, others and the larger world in which you live? And what feelings do these thoughts evoke? 

Behavior: How does your behavior change and what do you do at such a time? This may involve observable behaviors (such as getting into bed), or it may involve internal processes (starting to think negatively). 

Polyvagal tip

Use the information you learned from the above assignment to start listening intently to your dorsal moments. Also, keep writing about these moments and what else you learn from them about your own dorsal moments.