We naturally flow through different nervous system states day and night. Identifying your current state is the first step in being able to intentionally shift from dis-regulated and stressed to calm, curious and connected. There are four main Sympathetic or Dorsal responses that inhibit our ability to feel open and uplifted. They are Flee, Fight, Fawn and Freeze. Each involves less than optimal vagal tone and heart rate variability. By engaging nervous system rebalancing practices and vagal toning exercises - techniques that I write about in earlier posts and that only take a few minutes (!) - we can shift from sympathetic dominance to parasympathetic (rest & digest) and more ventral states of stillness, ease and play.
Nervous system states automatically shift based on circumstances, events, triggers, thoughts, hormones, neurotransmitters, time, emotions and so on. While we have little control over most external and physiological processes, we do have the capacity to tune into the current state of our nervous system and nudge it in the right direction. You might find yourself suddenly or gradually stuck in one of the above-mentioned sympathetic dominant states, so it's incredibly useful to continually check-in with yourself throughout the day - this means consistently turning towards your emotions, the sensations in your body, baseline symptoms, and the quality of your thoughts. When you take a quick inventory of your current state, you can apply the best tools for that particular state, and, start to regulate your Nervous System, thereby reducing stress and increasing a sense of wellbeing and resilience.
While different states have overlapping features and can be challenging to discern, there are specific hallmarks that make each unique. I hope that the sketches outlined below will help you distinguish among the 4 major Sympathetic Dominant and Dorsal Vagal responses. When you find yourself in one of them, you will now have the ability to utilize the most well-suited exercises to bring you back to a more peaceful, spacious and connected state that is characteristic of parasympathetic dominance and high ventral vagal tone.
Flee
A flight or flee response is an autonomic physiological reaction to a perceived threat that prepares the body to depart towards safety. Some signs of a flight response include increased heart rate and blood pressure, dilated pupils, pale or flushed skin, cool or clammy hands and feet, tension or trembling, and even loss of feeling in the extremities. We might feel fidgety, anxious, panicky and trapped or restless. There may be an impulse to move the arms, legs, and feet with an desire to get the beep outta dodge. A flee response can occur in even relatively, physically safe situations. During a challenging conversation, for example, a person in flight mode might do everything to avoid further communication and walk away, rather than try to repair.
After the stress/sympathetic response is activated, it can take around 20–60 minutes for the body to return to balanced functioning. During this time, we may notice lingering anxiety, or perhaps feel tired and achy. This is a great time to start engaging vagal toning exercises and nervous system balancing techniques. Anything we can do to feel genuinely safe and relaxed during this rebound period is ideal and can pull us out of the sympathetic response more quickly.
Fight
In a fight state, we may notice generalized feelings of frustration, being more easily irritable and less patient. There's often a lower threshold for situations and stressors. We may have a physical desire to get loud or push people away. A desire to break things or start fights - suddenly we become amateur wrestlers or we get nit-picky and are tempted to pick a trivial argument - often unconsciously. There might be an impulse to engage in more risk-taking or thrill-seeking behaviors. We may attract or be attracted to situations, people, places, substances and processes that increase, rather than decrease stress. There's a feeling of being on edge and possibly wanting to amp things up. Physically, the pupils may dilate to improve vision. Heart rate can speed up, more quickly oxygenating the blood. Digestion slows so energy is diverted to other areas of the body (to physically respond). The skin may become pale or flushed and sweaty. Breathing may become more rapid. There may be heightened feelings of emotional and physical tension, especially along the neck and shoulders. In a physically non-threatening, every day moment, the fight response might look like road rage or suddenly becoming very impatient in a work setting or becoming extra critical or combative.
Fawn
A fawn state is characterized by feelings of insecurity, compliance, and disempowerment. There's a sense of being unable to get away from or avoid a stressful situation as well as an inability to fight or advocate for oneself. When we believe we cannot fight or flee, we are much more likely to defer to others, people-please, and feel generally "less than." A fawn response is a parasympathetic reaction to trauma, often finding root in early childhood, and can involve being overly agreeable and prioritizing others' needs over your own. The subconscious goal is to avoid conflict and establish connections, even if it means disregarding our own needs. In a fawn state, a person might experience lack of confidence, a diminished sense of worth or capacity. We may feel literally, physically smaller. We may feel under-resourced and dependent upon others for our well being, even basic needs. We may feel inferior, resigned, and submissive. Physically, we might experience generalized anxiety, apathy, brain fog, fatigue, loss of or increase of appetite and we may have difficulty caring for ourselves. If we get stuck in a fawn response for a longer period of time, or the response becomes habituated, we may develop co-dependent personalities, losing sight of our own needs and desires in order to appease and/or take care of others.
Fawning - often intertwined with the dorsal vagal shutdown in cases of complex trauma - manifests through behaviors like over-apologizing, excessive self-blame, and self-gaslighting. These are not conscious choices but instinctual reactions to perceived threats, where the body and mind prioritize safety and self-preservation above all else. When fawning becomes a generalized autonomic response, it can impact a person's mental health and relationships. Again, the response is not intentional but often based on an unconscious and physiological attempt to avoid conflict and create security - adaptations often begun in childhood. Hallmarks of appeasing personalities involve suppressed emotions/needs, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and difficulty understanding and establishing boundaries. A person accustomed to fawning may be hyper-atuned to others' emotions, needs and desires and feel responsible for regulating other peoples' emotions. An impossible and taxing proposition.
Freeze
Freeze is an autonomic sympathetic response that happens when someone feels unsafe and is unable to effectively flee or fight. This hyperarousal state reallocates energy from the prefrontal cortex (critical thinking) to the limbic system, which involves basic survival defense mechanisms.
Signs of a freeze response include feeling physically stuck, increased muscle and joint stiffness, heavy limbs, cold or numb, limited or held breath. There may be feelings of dread or foreboding, apathy, mental rigidity, hyper-vigilance, dissociation, brain-fog, restlessness, feeling defensive, and trouble communicating. There may be increased anxiety, heart palpitations, high blood pressure and perspiration.
When the stress is frequent and chronic, especially early in life, our nervous systems can get stuck in a sympathetic dominant state, triggering the HPA axis to sustain higher baseline levels of cortisol and stress. Continuously high cortisol levels exhaust the adrenal glands, which can adversely and significantly affect sleep, appetite, metabolism, and raise inflammation. If we are stuck in sympathetic over-drive, parasympathetic mechanisms are also impaired, further diminishing sleep quality, digestion, and inflammatory regulation. There may be a desire to withdraw socially and generally feel disconnected. Self-care routines may go out the window and basic chores can seem insurmountable. Acute traumatic events can also shift us from a freeze response to a shut-down dorsal response, which is basically a frozen freeze response. Events include witnessing an accident, being physically injured, relationship upset, loss of a loved one, Covid and other medical complications, as well as cumulative daily stressors and hormone imbalances.
The freeze response is often considered an immediate reaction to a threat, involving temporary immobilization or hyper-vigilance. It’s part of the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight mechanism. A dorsal vagal shutdown is more of a parasympathetic response that can be acute and become a chronic go-to. When the dorsal vagal system perceives overwhelming stress or danger, the shutdown is triggered, leading to experiences of disconnection from people and reality. In this state, we might see dissociation, fugue states, and derealization.
Common signs that we may be stuck in a Sympathetic dominant or dorsal vagal loop:
Elevated, generalized anxiety, worry, and panic
Feeling "on edge" and/or generally unable to relax
Frequent emotional overwhelm and reactivity
Poor sleep and anxious dreams
Loss of appetite and/or compulsive eating
Increased food sensitivities and allergies
More or new physical pain and headaches
Increased impatience, irritability and reactivity.
Poor focus, concentration and memory
Frequent illness and decreased immunity
Ongoing fatigue or hyperactivity
In chronic situations like this, it's imperative that we reset the negative feedback loop of sympathetic dominance and reintegrate parasympathetic functioning through vagal toning and other nervous system balancing techniques. Other practices that positively affect parasympathetic functioning, vagal tone and heart rate variability include, but aren't limited to, breathing techniques, cold exposure, somatic experiencing, mind/body movement like yoga and qi gong, grounding in and communing with nature, and tuning into, sitting with and safely expressing emotions. There are individual as well as collective practices, which I'll share more about in a later post.
In this most recent vlog, I offer different exercises for different Nervous System states and how to best regulate for those states. I hope that you'll practice along with me in the vid to see just how accessible, brief and effective they are.
Thanks for watching!
If you have questions, would like to learn more, and/or if you'd like to schedule an intuitive healing session, please don't hesitate to reach out. britta@intuitivehealthhealing.com and 917.519.2432.
xx
Britta
Comments