Deb Dana & Dr. Stephen Porges - The Polyvagal Theory, Welcome vs. Warning, & Regulating the Self
Point of Relation with Thomas Huebl
Intergenerational Trauma and Autonomic Reactivity
Exploring the correlation between trauma history and autonomic reactivity, the chapter discusses the impact of trauma on the nervous system and the challenges of normalizing it. Emphasizing cues of safety and co-regulation in therapy, it delves into the intergenerational transmission of trauma and the transformative power of regulating one's nervous system.
Thomas Hübl is joined by seasoned author and clinician Deb Dana and the founder of the Polyvagal Theory (PVT) Dr. Stephen Porges for a lively discussion about the essence of PVT, the importance of human connection to the mind and body, and their methods of self-regulation for trauma survivors.
What You Will Discover:
✔️ The Polyvagal Theory is about human connection.
Dr. Stephen Porges goes deep into the Polyvagal Theory and its core essence, describing how human socialization can prevent modern stress-related disorders. He explains how modern society demands that people constantly exist in a threatened state, causing them to lose connection to their bodily cues and reducing their ability to regulate with others. “Social interaction isn’t just psychological behavior; it’s also neurophysiological.”
✔️ Stress and trauma cause dissociation.
Learning how to safely come back into our bodies after dissociation is a slow process, as shared by Deb Dana. Trauma survivors have acclimated to removing themselves from the present situation because of repeated painful events. Deb Dana teaches her clients to recognize their bodies’ ways of determining threat and safety.
✔️ Have a micro-moment of regulation.
How do people who have experienced traumatic and dangerous situations throughout their lives return to a state of self-regulation? Deb Dana helps clients navigate through their map of disconnection. The earlier we recognize the 'warning' signs of dysregulation, the less mental and physical energy we'll need in order to return to a more regulated baseline.
✔️ Honor your body’s ability to regulate itself.
Dr. Stephen Porges points out that our bodies have their own ways of signaling to us that there’s something wrong. It's important to pay attention to our bodies and acknowledge what they're trying to teach us.
✔️ Our patterns of protection are shaped throughout our life.
Due to trauma and constant exposure to painful situations, we have developed patterns of protection that we immediately employ when we sense even the slightest dangers. Getting stuck in this constant cycle of shielding oneself inhibits one from enjoying life.
✔️ Recognize your body’s signs of a warning and a welcome.
Dr. Stephen Porges and Deb Dana share ideas about how to remain in a state of regulation and how to differentiate a 'warning' from a 'welcome' sign. People have been programmed to mobilize, complete tasks, and maximize productivity in the modern world - without considering their mental and physiological state. This constant inhibition of bodily cues disconnects us from our physical form.
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Deb Dana, LCSW is an author, clinician, and consultant specializing in using the lens of polyvagal theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She developed The Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series, and lectures internationally on ways polyvagal theory informs work with trauma survivors. She partners with Sounds True through the audio program, Befriending Your Nervous System: Looking Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory, and her forthcoming book, titled Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory.
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Dr. Stephen Porges is a distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of the physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences.
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Thomas Hübl is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator whose lifelong work integrates the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since 2004, he has taught and facilitated programs with more than 100,000 people worldwide, including online courses which he began offering in 2008. The origin of his work and more than two decades of study and practice on healing collective trauma is detailed in his book Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds
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