Polyvagal Theory

Big T Trauma

Big T Trauma: Significant loss, death of loved one, sexual abuse, being bullied, miscarriage(s), betrayal, parents' divorce (even when merited), abandonment, relinquishment, infidelity, invasive medical procedures, near-death experiences.

Chronic T Trauma

Chronic T Trauma: Ongoing environments that cause us to be on edge and hypervigilant like the imposing doom of financial ruin, a parent being angry, critical or drunk, being made fun of at school for not performing good enough or not being as good as another person especially a sibling, anticipation of a feared event that happens once every month or year but is unpredictable in when it is going to happen, self or a family member in an ongoing battle with cancer or another disease, a pressure cooker environment to achieve, entitlement, or an avoidance pattern family to name a few.

The nervous systems' response to threat is: fight, flight or freeze

Fight, flight and freeze involves two states: the sympathetic fight-or-flight and parasympathetic shutdown.

Healthy shame

Healthy shame happens when we do something wrong, and then we feel not just guilty but remorseful, sick and even self-loathing at first. In that internal conversation that is always going on in our thoughts, an example of a healthy shame expression is, "I did something bad!" Healthy shame motivates us to not repeat a wrong action by making us feel really bad about a wrong action.

Little T Trauma

Little T Trauma: Rejections, humiliation, major disappointments, moves that mean dislocation from friends and culture, failures in academics, sports and other extracurricular activities, jobs, and relationships.

A Multidimensional Model of Resilience

Multidimensional model involves: General factors assertiveness ability to solve problems self-efficacy ability to live with uncertainty self-awareness a positive outlook empathy for others having goals and aspirations ability to maintain a balance between independence and dependence on others appropriate use of or abstinence from substances like alcohol and drugs a sense of humour a sense of duty (to others or self, depending on the culture) Relationship factors parenting that meets the child's needs appropriate emotional expression and parental monitoring within the family social competence the presence of a positive mentor and role models meaningful relationships with others at school, home, and perceived social support peer group acceptance Community factors opportunities for age-appropriate work avoidance of exposure to violence in one's family, community, and with peers government provision for children's safety, recreation, housing, and jobs when they are at the appropriate age to work meaningful rites of passage with an appropriate amount of risk tolerance of high-risk and problem behavior safety and security perceived social equity access to school and education, information, and learning resources Cultural factors affiliation with a religious organization tolerance for different ideologies and beliefs adequate management of cultural dislocation and a change or shift in values self-betterment having a life philosophy cultural and/or spiritual identification being culturally grounded by knowing where you come from and being part of a cultural tradition that is expressed through daily activities Physical factors access to a healthy environment security in one's community access to recreational spaces sustainable resources

Shame

Shame is the extreme feeling of guilt that arises when a person internalizes mistakes. There are two types of shame: healthy and toxic. Healthy shame happens when we do something wrong, and then we feel not just guilty but remorseful, sick and even self-loathing at first. In that internal conversation that is always going on in our thoughts, an example of a healthy shame expression is, "I did something bad!" Healthy shame motivates us to not repeat a wrong action by making us feel really bad about a wrong action. An experience of being hurt, rejected, abused, left out, neglected, betrayed, etc., any number of Big, Little or Chronic T's, carries with it an internal message of toxic shame. Where healthy shame says, "I did bad," toxic shame's message is, "I am bad." Two very different internal messages. For example, I've worked with many young adults and adolescents, both male and female, who experienced the trauma of being raped or sexually abused. Some toxic shame statements commonly made are, Why did he pick me? What about me made him think that I was rape-able? I must be rape-able! And now I am damaged goods, broken, defective, unlovable, etc.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The Peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The central nervous system (CNS) involves the brain and spinal cord.

Fight state

The fight response is often the first trauma response; it is an attempt to fight off an attacker or response in the body in order to gain safety. If a person is attacked and fight is an option, and fighting leads to safety, the person can leave the threat situation safely, go home to their family and/or inner circle, tell their story, express their emotions, be supported by their circle and, over a few days, allow their traumatic experience to finish the trauma cycle, heal and return to a normal neurobiological state. People who go through this experience usually do not need therapy because they got what they needed through their fight responses and their families. Looks like: Crying Hands in fists, desire to punch, rip Flexed/tight jaw, grinding teeth, snarl Fight in eyes, glaring, fight in voice Desire to stomp, kick, smash with legs, feet Feelings of anger/rage Homicidal/suicidal feelings Knotted stomach/nausea, burning stomach Metaphors like bombs, volcanoes erupting

Flight state

The flight state is leaving the scene as fast as you can. Looks like: Restless legs, feet /numbness in legs Anxiety/shallow breathing Big/darting eyes Leg/foot movement Reported or observed fidgety-ness, restlessness, feeling trapped, tense Sense of running in life- one activity-next Excessive exercise

Freeze state

The freeze, or freeze-or-faint, state/ shutdown state occurs through the dorsal branch of the vagus nerve. This reaction can feel like the fatigued muscles and lightheadedness of a bad flu. When the dorsal vagal nerve shuts down the body, it can move us into immobility or dissociation. In addition to affecting the heart and lungs, the dorsal branch affects body functioning below the diaphragm and is involved in digestive issues. Looks like: Feeling stuck in some part of body Feeling cold/frozen, numb, pale skin Sense of stiffness, heaviness Holding breath/restricted breathing Sense of dread, heart pounding Decreased heart rate (can sometimes increase) Orientation to threat

Nervous system has three parts

The nervous system includes: Activation system Calming system Social engagement system

Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is a division of the autonomic nervous system that slows down body functions, activated when you relax or when SNS stimulated too long. - body system that calms the body; heart rate and blood pressure drop, breathing slows, stomach activity and digestion increase - criticism: different emotions can cause the range of physiological changes

Social Engagement System

The social engagement system is a playful mixture of activation and calming that operates out of unique nerve influence. The social engagement system helps us navigate relationships. Helping our clients shift into use of their social engagement system allows them to become more flexible in their coping styles.

Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is a component of the autonomic nervous system that responds to stressful situations by initiating the fight, flight or freeze response.

Trauma continuum

The trauma continuum involves three categories of trauma: Big T, Little T and Chronic T. Big T traumas include the death of a loved one, sexual abuse, physical abuse, a loved one's cancer diagnosis, parents' divorce (even if it is a merited divorce), relinquishment, infidelity (to the non-offending spouse), abandonment, infertility, miscarriages and other significant losses. You might compare a Big T Trauma to a samurai sword wound, meaning if you were being attacked by a person with a samurai sword, you would definitely respect the situation because it would be life-threatening. You would also give respect to another person who experienced a Big T. In other words, none of us hears about a family member, friend or even an unknown person going through a Big T Trauma and responds with, "Oh, that's no big deal." We all know it was a big deal, and we respect it as such. Little T traumas are not only subtler, they are much more common to the young men that we work with at Capstone. Little T's are more comparable to a toothpick wound: rejection by a girlfriend, betrayal by a friend, humiliation by a coach or teacher, harsh criticism by a parent, a personal failure or error, especially in front of an audience, or a mistake that is used to label you. For instance, missing the shot in a basketball game in the final second that would have won the game. Or walking into class late with your pants unzipped so everyone sees it, and no one ever lets you forget it. I'm sure right now that you are thinking, "Yeah, of course, everybody goes through stuff like that. It's no big deal. Get over it!" You are right that everybody goes through Little T's, many times, but you are wrong that it is no big deal. Keep reading for a few paragraphs, and I will explain why. The third category is Chronic T Trauma. Where Big T's are like samurai swords and Little T's like toothpicks, Chronic T's are like living in smog. Chronic T's can be the most damaging of all the traumas. While a Chronic T environment can include Big T and Little T events, a Chronic T is a 24/7 environment. Examples include after mom's diagnosis of breast cancer and treatment that "almost got it all," the daily fear that it will spread. Or mom and dad have an argument, and somebody throws out the word divorce, so the children begin to walk on eggshells trying not to rock the boat. Or a basketball coach who berates his players thinking that beating them down will make them stronger, so a player is facing it 24/7 - bracing for it before it happens, enduring it while it's happening and functioning with the memory of it afterward. One woman described her childhood like this: "My dad blew up with anger about one time each year, and I spent the other 364 days wondering, is today the day?"

Vagal nerve

The vagal nerve controls the ventral vagal nerve. This is the branch that serves the social engagement system. The ventral vagal nerve dampens the body's regularly active state. Picture controlling a horse as you ride it back to the stable. You would continue to pull back on and release the reins in nuanced ways to ensure that the horse maintains an appropriate speed. Likewise, the ventral vagal nerve allows activation in a nuanced way, thus offering a different quality than sympathetic activation. Ventral vagal release into activity takes milliseconds, whereas sympathetic activation takes seconds and involves various chemical reactions that are akin to losing the horse's reins. In addition, once the fight-or-flight chemical reactions have begun, it can take our bodies 10-20 minutes to return to our pre-fight/pre-flight state.

Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve serves the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the calming aspect of our nervous system mechanics. The tenth cranial nerve that innervates digestive organs, heart and other areas.

Toxic shame

Toxic shame believes "I am bad". It involves being left-out, abused, hurt and rejected.

Trauma causes two types of damage: physical and spiritual

Trauma can cause two types of damage, physical and spiritual. The physical damage occurs when trauma is severe enough to damage the body and sometimes damage the brain. The spiritual damage happens in the core identity of the soul. It is caused by the toxic shame from the trauma. The most damaging aspect of trauma is the toxic shame. The core of trauma therapy is healing from toxic shame.

Trauma

Trauma wires the neurobiology to be anxious, depressed, isolated, hypervigilant, in pain or numb and makes a person neurobiologically vulnerable to compulsive and addictive behaviours - alcohol/drugs, pornography, sexual acting out, video-gaming, social media and technology, excessive eating or deprivation of food, and other self-destructive behaviours. Trauma is the threat of experiencing or the actual experiencing, of an event, a series of events, or an ongoing condition that is: fearful, emotionally and/or physically painful, unstoppable causes a Fight - Flight - Freeze response, especially Freeze because that means that safety was not obtained through Fight or Flight, and leaves an internal message of toxic shame that you are somehow responsible, at fault, or deserving of the trauma. The three T's of trauma: Big T Trauma: Significant loss, death of loved one, sexual abuse, being bullied, miscarriage(s), betrayal, parents' divorce (even when merited), abandonment, relinquishment, infidelity, invasive medical procedures, near-death experiences Little T Trauma: Rejections, humiliation, major disappointments, moves that mean dislocation from friends and culture, failures in academics, sports and other extracurricular activities, jobs, and relationships. Chronic T Trauma: Ongoing environments that cause us to be on edge and hypervigilant like the imposing doom of financial ruin, a parent being angry, critical or drunk, being made fun of at school for not performing good enough or not being as good as another person especially a sibling, anticipation of a feared event that happens once every month or year but is unpredictable in when it is going to happen, self or a family member in an ongoing battle with cancer or another disease, a pressure cooker environment to achieve, entitlement, or an avoidance pattern family to name a few.