Healing Through the Vagus Nerve
Recognizing Defense Mode
In this three part series, Bonnie and Kristi share insights on how to recognize when you have gone into defense mode, three important questions to ask yourself to discover what defense mode is telling you, and then how to attend to yourself and the situation to create more ease through life's challenges.
Recognizing Defense Mode: Part 1
Do you ever feel tense and tight and irritable but don't know why?
Do you ever feel foggy and like you just can't motivate yourself to get things done?
These experiences are both clues that you're likely in some degree of defense mode. This is useful information that the nervous system is giving us, letting us know that something needs to be addressed.
When your nervous system perceives some kind of threat, it moves involuntarily into a defense mode - you don’t choose this or have conscious control over it. However, once you become aware of what state you are in you have some choice. What you choose to do depends on many factors, and we will be talking more about that in the next two installments of this series.
In today’s email, we want to focus on helping you learn to identify what state you are in. This is the first step in consciously working with your body’s response to stress.
The Three Nervous System States
There are three nervous system states that work together to ensure our safety and help us function day to day. Safe & Social ideally is our "home" - where we rest when we are not feeling challenged or threatened. Fight/Flight and Shutdown/Freeze are both defense mode states.
Safe & Social: This is where you feel safe, clear and connected. Your nervous system is not perceiving any threat so you can be open and relaxed.
Fight/Flight: When the nervous system senses some kind of threat, whether real or imagined, it moves us into the Fight/Flight defense mode. This mobilizes us for some kind of action to protect ourselves. If there is no real threat, or no action that can be taken, you are left with a lot of unused energy. This can take the form of muscle tension, sleeplessness, and spinning thoughts.
Shutdown/Freeze: If the threat is perceived as overwhelming, you move into the Shutdown/Freeze defense mode. This is a low-energy, immobilizing state - what we see in the animal world as “playing dead”. It is meant to protect us in the case of a life threat. However, it can be triggered in situations which are not truly threatening. This makes it very difficult to think clearly and take needed action.
We’ve created the Nervous System Map below with descriptive statements of how each state feels. This can help you to recognize which state you are in at any given time. Once you know where you are on the map, then you are able to have more choice in how you respond. (Click on the "Download File" button below the image to access the PDF. Please feel free to print and share!)
We invite you to review this map and see if you recognize these experiences. Reflect on what was happening when you were in that state. Is there one of these that you spend more time in than the others?
There is no judgment with this, simply information that you can use to understand yourself better and give you more choice when feeling challenged or stressed.
Notice where you are on the map over the next week. In Part 2 (Video below), we will be talking more about what each state might look and feel like in daily life in order to further help you identify states in yourself (and others!). We will also discuss why being aware of nervous system state is so important.
Recognizing Defense Mode: Part 2
In Part 2 of our series, we discuss why it is important to know when you are in defense mode, as well as more on how to identify which nervous system state you are in.
Recognizing Defense Mode: Part 3
Discover what Defense Mode is telling you by asking yourself three important questions. Then learn strategies for how you can attend to those needs to create more balance and ease through all of the ups and downs of life!
Embodied Scanning Practice Link
We hope you have enjoyed this series on how to recognize when you are in defense mode and how to work with your nervous system to enjoy greater peace and manage stress and challenges more effectively! We would love to hear about your experience, as well as any questions, in the comments below.
