Polyvagal Theory & Mental Health Series: General Overview 

Article written by Denver therapist, Meghan Stetson

Polyvagal Theory (PVT) is a hot topic in the world of mental health right now, and for good reason.

It provides us with a framework for understanding the intricacies of how our nervous systems work.

It orients us towards the helpful idea that a felt sense of safety underpins much of our habits, impulses, and desires.

It also provides one way of looking at how the mind-body connection flows inside of us and in response to all with which we are connected.  

In this series of articles that will build upon each other, we will look, together, at Polyvagal Theory (PVT) to provide you with a roadmap of how to understand your nervous system and navigate its fluctuations with conscious awareness.

In this first of the series, we’ll begin with a general overview of what PVT is, how it relates to mental health, and how it helps us understand the mindbody connection. 

What Is Polyvagal Theory?

The Polyvagal Theory was developed in the mid 1990s by Steven Porges, PhD, a neuroscientist who was researching heart rate patterns in human fetuses and newborns.

Read More: “How Is Your Relationship… With You?”

It is a theory that explains how neurology, biology, and behavior are interrelated for mammals – PVT poses that mammals receive biological and neurological benefit from social interaction, connection, and co-regulation.

What mammals require for this is a felt sense of safety that is detected by our nervous system (the term for this ‘sixth sense’ is “Neuroception”), which is why The Polyvagal Theory is sometimes called, “the science of safety.”  

In other words: we must feel safe in order to connect socially, and we must connect socially in order to function optimally.

We need safety for healthy attachment and co-regulation, and PVT goes on to explain how this has ripple effects throughout our mindbody systems. 

Understanding the Mind Body Connection Through Polyvagal Theory

The Polyvagal Theory provides a nuanced approach to understanding the Vagus Nerve, which is sometimes called the “major mindbody highway.” PVT posits that there are two (“poly”) pathways of the Vagus (“vagal”) nerve.  

The Vagus Nerve is the tenth (of twelve) cranial nerves.

It is a large bundle of nerve fibers that originates in the brainstem and hosts the parasympathetic nervous system.

One branch of it goes from the heart up into the face, including all of the organs that we use to engage socially with others (called the “Ventral Vagal” branch).

The other goes down from the heart and through all other major systems including our respiratory system and digestive system (called the “Dorsal Vagal” branch).  

The fibers of the Vagus Nerve are 80% “afferent” – meaning 80% of the communication along the Vagus Nerve is information that is sensed in the body and is communicated back up to the brainstem.

This is the science behind the book and now the colloquial saying that “The Body Keeps the Score.”  

The Vagus Nerve thus connects all systems of our bodies to our hearts, to our brains, and to each other.

When it picks up signals of safety or danger anywhere – in the gut, through the movement of our diaphragm and lungs, through how we feel in our heart, through what our eyes or ears are taking in – it communicates that signal of safety or danger to the rest of our bodies & brain as well. 

This has enormous implications for our overall health and for our mental health.   

The Connection Between Polyvagal Theory and Mental Health

The key premise of PVT that relates to mental health is the idea that as mammals, we as humans require a felt sense of safety for us to have healthy relationships and co-regulation, and that we need that co-regulation for our systems to function well. 

Read More: “Mindfulness: Ways to Tap Into The Power You Have Within”

In this conversation, we can think of trauma, stress, and attachment wounding as the opposites of safety.

In the language of our nervous system, trauma, stress, and attachment wounding register as a felt sense of danger.  

In the world of trauma-informed mental healthcare, PVT then can provide us with a nonjudgmental way of looking at how experiences of trauma, stress, and attachment wounding impact our nervous systems, and therefore our lives, the stories we tell us about ourselves, and who we believe we are in the world.  

It further provides us with a roadmap of how to more consciously navigate our nervous system states and heal unhelpful patterning we have picked up along the way due to picking up signals of danger.  

Polyvagal Theory in Practice

PVT is a lot of theory. Let’s start to get practical and look at how you can utilize PVT in your life to benefit your mental health – we’ll begin with a practice centered around the felt sense of safety. 

Safety looks and feels different for all of us.

And, when you’ve experienced trauma in your life, the idea of accessing safety on a daily basis may feel foreign or unattainable.

So, let’s get really practical and start “small.”

Let’s identify and engage more with things that are already a part of your everyday life (or are easy additions!), that bring you a felt sense of safety and comfort.  

Make a list of these things and practice bringing awareness to at least one of them every day.  

Some examples might be: Time with a pet, gardening, cooking, a particular scent, connecting with a loved one, a particular place in nature or nature view, listening to a specific song, gazing at a sacred object, wearing a particular item of clothing, and so much more.  

Pick one of these to engage with daily. Deepen into your experience.

Read More: “Counseling for Chronic Illness: Making the Invisible Visible”

Ask yourself: what does safety feel like in your body?

What happens to your heart rate, your breath, your posture, etc, when you engage with this?

This is bringing consciousness and intention to what otherwise might be a fleeting moment.

When we bring our attention to this experience, it can expand, lengthen, and offer healing for our nervous systems. Notice what happens for you. 

In our next PVT & Mental Health Series article, we’ll begin to look in more depth at the three organizing principles of PVT, mentioned briefly in this general overview: Co-Regulation, Neuroception, and the Autonomic Hierarchy. 

In the meantime, see what comes up for you as you try out one of these exercises above.

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Denver Therapist, Meghan Stetson

Meghan is a licensed therapist who specializes in mind-body therapy approaches, including Polyvagal theory, mindfulness practices, somatic based approaches.

Meghan helps people with chronic pain, chronic illness learn to connect in a loving, compassionate way with their bodies.

She provides individual therapy for those who suffer with chronic illness, codependency, anxiety, depression and trauma. Meghan brings a compassionate and thoughtful presence to her work as a therapist.

She is engaging and endlessly curious about those she works with and how she can best support them.

To learn more about Polyvagal theory and Meghan, check her out on instagram at @meghanstetson

Also, read more about Meghan through her bio here.