Over the holiday season I have had some time to reflect on the pandemic that has taken our lives over and have caused us to lose those that are dear to us. How do we march on with such an unpredictable disease? Some people seem to survive it and others not, yet there is no rhyme nor reason why that is. I do not claim to know why others survive and others perish, however I have been curious and after hearing some encounters and reading newspaper articles a common theme that has stood out is the isolation that affected people feel during this time. The survivors have repeatedly pointed out the lonely feelings this illness induces.
We are a social people, and social connection is necessary for our survival. I know I have taken moments of socially connecting for granted, thinking they will always be accessible. The comfort brought by having people linger after the burial of a loved one, the opportunities to reminisce and the solace that is brought by experiencing a loved one through eyes and encounters of others. The delight and exuberance experienced when singing and ululating at a wedding. The reassurance and familiarity when singing a favourite hymn at church.
All of these encourage our autonomic nervous system to engage in a social connection state. Until very recently, I had always felt the urge when I needed to connect with others, but I could not have guessed that this was a need that stemmed from my autonomic nervous system. I did not know that this was a message from the autonomic nervous system guiding me to moderate stress and seek safety.
I have learnt that through the autonomic nervous system, we oscillate between three different states, namely; the dorsal ventral state (shut down), the sympathetic state of flight or fright and the ventral vagal state. We feel safe and ready to engage socially when we are in the ventral vagal state, whilst in the other two states we feel threatened. These states are made possible by a function of the Vagus nerve, which although sounds like one nerve, is actually a collection of nerves that wander from the brainstem through the neck and the thorax, down to the abdomen, and back to the brain. The science that explains this all is known the Polyvagal theory.
The Polyvagal theory explains how humanity evolved in a hostile environment in which survival was dependent on the ability to down regulate states of defense (against threat) with states of safety and trust, states that support co-operative and behavior and health. This theory further sets out how the autonomic nervous system influences mental, behavioural and physiological processes, with the aim of helping us learn about the science of feeling safe enough to fall in love with life and take the risks of living even amidst everyday threats. Even with the modern day threat of the pandemic, ours is to find new ways to co-regulate into safety so that we support our immune system in this fight.
If you would like to learn other ways of co-regulating into the ventral vagal state by stimulating the vagus nerve, please get in touch with Maropeng Counselling Services @ www.maropengcounselling.co.za or 0787134937
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