{"id":19773,"date":"2020-12-02T20:50:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T00:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=19773"},"modified":"2020-12-04T23:32:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T03:32:43","slug":"the-polyvagal-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the polyvagal theory? How does it work and what does it have to do with how we handle trauma? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Porges&#8217; Polyvagal theory explains why we have emotional reactions in response to certain stimuli, like sounds. Some researchers believe that understanding polyvagal theory can help us manage trauma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about polyvagal theory and how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Your Body Expresses Your Thoughts and Emotions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mental and physical states are inextricably connected. Both positive and negative emotions can give you physical sensations\u2014like when the hair on the back of your neck stands up in the face of a threat, or you feel butterflies in your stomach when you\u2019re excited.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other people pick up on your mental and emotional state through your facial expressions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/body-language-crucial-conversations\/\">body language<\/a>, and likewise, you read other people\u2019s emotions and intentions through their physical expressions.<\/strong> Darwin went so far as to say that the purpose of emotions is to spur physical actions that will keep or return us to a safe and balanced state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if your mind and emotions are hijacked by a hypervigilance to danger &#8212; as is the case with trauma sufferers &#8212; it prevents you from relaxing enough to connect with other people; they don\u2019t read an open, welcoming state in your posture, and you mistakenly see them as threatening.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Polyvagal Theory: Why Body Language Influences Emotions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Researcher Stephen Porges came up with the Polyvagal Theory in 1994. <strong>Stephen Porges&#8217; Polyvagal Theory explains how our social interactions with others, and the way we read each others\u2019 body language, impacts our emotions &#8212; for instance, why hearing a soothing voice can calm you, or why feeling ostracized by other people can make you angry or cause you to shut down.<\/strong> This theory reinforces the important role that social relationships play in your life and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/emotional-health-and-well-being\/\">emotional well-being<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/empathy-neurons\/\">mirror neurons<\/a> (located in the frontal lobes, which help you pick up on other people\u2019s actions, emotions, and intentions and are responsible for empathy) interpret people\u2019s emotions through their body language, and then your body adjusts in response; if you pick up calm vibes from someone else, you\u2019ll unconsciously relax. This helps humans live and function in communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trauma Survivors Struggle to Find Safety and Belonging in Communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Reciprocity &#8212; feeling seen and heard by the people around you &#8212; and social support foster a feeling of safety that is the most important factor in mental health. You must feel safe in order to let your guard down enough to play, have intimate relationships, mate, and nurture children.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Many trauma survivors struggle to feel truly understood, seen, and heard by those around them, and thus seldom feel safe and comfortable in social settings. <\/strong>Some trauma sufferers find a community in fellow trauma survivors (as we mentioned earlier, in the cases of veterans and first responders), but confining yourself to a community of fellow victims ultimately leads to further isolation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/healing-from-childhood-trauma\/\">Healing from trauma<\/a> means restoring the ability to feel safe and experience reciprocity. Animals &#8212; particularly dogs and horses &#8212; are used in group treatment of trauma survivors because they offer companionship and safety without the complexities that human relationships bring, as a part of Stephen Porges&#8217; polyvagal theory. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the polyvagal theory? How does it work and what does it have to do with how we handle trauma? Stephen Porges&#8217; Polyvagal theory explains why we have emotional reactions in response to certain stimuli, like sounds. Some researchers believe that understanding polyvagal theory can help us manage trauma. Read more about polyvagal theory and how it works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,9,160],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-19773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-psychology","category-science","tag-the-body-keeps-the-score","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"645\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"358\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\"},\"headline\":\"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\"},\"wordCount\":554,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Body Keeps the Score\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\",\"name\":\"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg\",\"width\":645,\"height\":358},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\",\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carrie Cabral\"},\"description\":\"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion - Shortform Books","description":"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion","og_description":"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":645,"height":358,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Carrie Cabral","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carrie Cabral","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/"},"author":{"name":"Carrie Cabral","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56"},"headline":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion","datePublished":"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/"},"wordCount":554,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","keywords":["The Body Keeps the Score"],"articleSection":["Education","Psychology","Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/","name":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-03T00:50:49+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-05T03:32:43+00:00","description":"We have emotional reactions to stimuli around us. This is known as the polyvagal theory. But can it help with PTSD? Find out here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","width":645,"height":358},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-polyvagal-theory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Polyvagal Theory: How Bodies Convey Emotion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56","name":"Carrie Cabral","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carrie Cabral"},"description":"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blink-trust-your-instincts-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19773"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20025,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19773\/revisions\/20025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}