Dorsal Rest: The Most Important Polyvagal State for Coping with On-Going Trauma
In basic introductions to polyvagal theory, we learn about 3 nervous system states - safe and social, fight/flight, and freeze/shutdown. The safe and social state involves the Ventral Vagus nerve, the fight/flight state involves high activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and the freeze/shutdown state involves high activation of the Dorsal Vagus nerve.
From this simplistic explanation, it is easy to assume that engagement of the Dorsal Vagus nerve is something to be avoided. I have received emails asking “Is Dorsal the bad one?” and “What can I do to get out of Dorsal activation?”
I realize that some of the ways I have presented polyvagal info in the past contributed to this misunderstanding, and many of the sources I have referred people to have further solidified this false idea that Dorsal is bad.
In this post, I want to honor the Dorsal Vagus for its fantastic ability to multi-task, and I hope that by the end, perhaps your view of this nerve will have shifted.
DORSAL REST is a state of dorsal vagus activation that is supported by ventral vagus activation. The activation of the ventral vagus moderates the activity of the dorsal, so that the body system does not go into a freeze/shutdown state.
In this mixed state, we feel low energy or immobilization that is tolerable and not distressing. This state allows the body to rest and rebuild after injury, to properly digest food and absorb nutrition, to access meditative or spiritual states, and to sleep. With the help of the ventral vagus, the dorsal vagus offers us restoration, rejuvenation, and healing.
This is possibly the most important vagal state to know about for long-term trauma recovery, for long-haul covid recovery, and for all of us who have just hit the “pandemic wall.” Our bodies require regular activation of the dorsal vagus to heal from normal wear and tear and more frequent activation of the dorsal vagus to heal from trauma.
When we run on high tone sympathetic energy for a long time (months to years), our adrenal resources become depleted. When we eventually crash, we flip from high energy anxiety and hypervigilence to exhaustion and loss of interest in high energy activities. If we cannot access safety at this point, we will become depressed, and the depression will last until we are able to access a sense of safety or refuge somewhere.
Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves or each other about being low energy are the biggest danger cues in our environment. Our society has labeled being low energy as lazy, incompetent, childish, and dysfunctional. When our self-talk is blaming or shaming us for being low energy, our bodies are less capable of using that low energy time for healing. Self-talk is of course not our only barrier to safety, but it is one of the few that is within our control.
Embracing Dorsal Rest has allowed me to better cope with PMDD, a cyclical type of depression that involves severe mood drops just before my period. Those 5-7 days each month still suck, but they suck a little less now that I understand low energy phases are a natural and normal part of my body’s self-healing process. I find that shifting my self-talk changes my experience of how distressing these low energy phases are for me. Thus I have been trying to reframe “sickness behaviors” as “healing behaviors.”
Here is my current list of 100% healthy “healing behaviors” which I find necessary when I am immobilized by my Dorsal Vagus…
Nesting & Naps
Comfort Food
Time and Space Alone - sometimes we need isolation to recharge
Low energy activities - listening to music, watching Netflix, reading, coloring, meditation, visualizations, breathwork, prayer, yin yoga, constructive rest, visiting with internalized others (inner mentor, inner child, etc)
Sensory Defenses - shades drawn, headphones on, humidifier, soft blankets, temp set to a comfy range, etc etc
Doing “nothing” - day dreaming, spacing out, losing time
If I shame myself for any of these, I quickly find myself out of DORSAL REST and into DORSAL FREEZE.
I hope that this post gives you some permission to be slow and restful and know that this is exactly what your body needs.
When I first shared this blog post on Facebook, some commenters added the following to the list of “healing behaviors” . . .
Yoga Nidra/Restorative Yoga
Guided Meditations
Cuddling with a pet
Slow walks in nature
Baths
Warm drinks like tea or cocoa
Resting with a heating pad or ice pack
Reading for enjoyment
Completing a puzzle
Self massage with a car buffer
Watching the sky
Experimental art without rules
This comment by Krysta Dancy, MFT on a share of this post kinda blew my mind . . .
The topic is postpartum depression.
“The more I understand trauma from birth the more I contemplate the lack of postpartum rest as a contributor to our high rates of trauma.
The human body is quite capable of enduring and healing from incredible stressors and traumas. Most all of us have experienced something which could have been traumatic, but wasn't. And maybe we've marveled at why that is.
For instance, after the twin towers fell on September 11 trauma researchers dug in to understand the impact. And despite all predictions:
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥 𝙋𝙏𝙎𝘿.
That's not because it wasn't a traumatic experience. It clearly was. Yet something else was at play. There was more to learn.
Which leads me back to rest (and more specifically sleep) and the seemingly protective role it has against PTSD.
This is a double whammy because anyone who has experienced a trauma can tell you that the intrusive images make sleep VERY difficult in the beginning. And we're even likely to avoid it.
This avoidance of sleep turns out to be the beginning of a downward spiral. We avoid sleep to avoid the intrusive images and dreams. But the sleep is a integral part of what our brain needs to begin to process the traumatic experience and take away the emotional charge of it. As we avoid sleep, we actually make it worse.
Similarly, times of rest play an important part in the process of trauma (even without sleep). The vagal state of rest sends an essential message to our nervous system: we're safe now, you can relax. This signals the END of the trauma and therefore the end of our body's need to be on high alert. Without it, our body's high alert state is stuck "on" and we can't put it behind us.
So if there's anything in short supply for new parents (and especially new moms) it is sleep and rest. Even if they happen to curl up with a good book and a warm cup the likelihood that one of their children will suddenly and abruptly end the relaxation is very high. And this means they never EVER fully "let down" and go into a state of vagal rest.
Same is said for those who work on call shifts (Doulas, midwives, obstetricians I'm looking at you). If every time your body *just* begins to fall into a state of dorsal rest it is abruptly YANKED from that state and expected to perform with adrenaline... the body learns to avoid that state. No body enjoys being jerked around. It finally says "you can't fool me, I am not going to let my guard down again".
So when we look at the incredibly high rates of PTSD, trauma, burnout among birth professionals and those who gave birth- it begins to make sense. We are made to be able to endure trauma and naturally heal- but we don't give our body the basics needed to do so.
Know someone who just endured a trauma? Help them rest, FULLY rest. Even an hour that won't be interrupted is valuable. The more their body can "flip the switch" the more their body can begin to finally heal as it wants to.”
