Polyvagal Theory Explained: A Guide to Nervous System Healing

Bottom Up: Polyvagal Theory in the Therapy Room

When building a house, the most important — yet often invisible — part is the foundation. 
When planting a garden, the preparation of the soil determines whether plants grow strong or struggle to survive.

Your nervous system works the same way. The foundation you are given early in life shapes your emotional health, relationships, and how you respond to stress. In the therapy room, this is where Polyvagal Theory, created by Dr. Stephen Porges, becomes essential. It helps us understand the profound connection between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and our daily experience of safety, connection, and survival.

Why the Foundation of the Nervous System Matters

From the moment we are born, our brain develops from the bottom up — starting with the primitive survival brain of infancy and gradually building toward the complex cognitive brain of adulthood.

Early relationships and experiences literally wire our nervous system, creating the blueprint for how we respond to danger, stress, love, and connection. 
When early attachment or developmental trauma disrupts this process, the foundation may form with cracks or gaps. These disruptions can later appear as:

• Anxiety or panic 
• Depression or emotional shutdown 
• Rage, anger, or irritability 
• Obsessive-compulsive behaviors (OCD) 
• Self-harm or suicidal thoughts 
• Addiction or compulsive behaviors 
• Relationship struggles or emotional disconnection

These aren’t simply “symptoms.” They are adaptive survival strategies your body created to protect you when you didn’t have other resources.

Jaak Panksepp and the Roots of Emotion

Neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp identified affective neural circuits — deep emotional systems hardwired into every human brain. These circuits govern core experiences such as seeking, care, fear, and rage.

When early relational wounding occurs, these circuits can become over- or under-activated, leaving you feeling stuck in cycles of hypervigilance, emotional chaos, or numbness.

Polyvagal Theory gives us a map to understand these deep emotional drives and how to work with them gently in therapy rather than trying to force them into change.

The Three Main States of the Nervous System

Your body is constantly scanning the environment, asking one question: “Am I safe, or am I in danger?” Depending on the answer, your nervous system shifts between three main states:

1. Ventral Vagal State – Safety and Connection

When you feel safe and supported, your body rests here. In this state, curiosity, creativity, and healthy relationships can flourish.

2. Sympathetic State – Mobilization and Fight/Flight

When danger is detected, your system activates to help you respond — either by fighting or fleeing. This is a healthy, necessary survival response in moments of real threat.

3. Dorsal Vagal State – Freeze and Shutdown

If fight or flight don’t work, the nervous system moves into freeze, collapse, or shutdown to protect you. This is where numbness, depression, or dissociation often emerge.

When the nervous system becomes stuck in fight, flight, or freeze long after the original threat has passed, it can feel impossible to return to a state of safety and calm.

Why “Bottom-Up” Therapy Works

Traditional therapy often focuses on “top-down” approaches — thinking, analyzing, and problem-solving. While these are valuable, healing deep trauma requires bottom-up work, starting with the body and nervous system, where the wounds first took root.

At Kairos Counseling & Family Therapy, we use bottom-up, experiential therapies like: 

• EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) 
• ETT (Emotional Transformation Therapy) 
• Sandtray Therapy 
• IASIS MCN (Micro Current Neurofeedback) 
• SSP (Safe & Sound Protocol) 
• Parts Work / Ego State Therapy

These approaches help mend the foundation so your nervous system can operate as it was designed — flexibly shifting between safety, activation, and rest.

Polyvagal Theory in Practice

Polyvagal Theory isn’t just a scientific framework — it’s a compassionate lens through which we understand your story.

In therapy, we listen to what your body and nervous system are communicating through anxiety, rage, panic, or depression. Rather than seeing these as problems to be fixed, we honor them as signs of protection — evidence of how hard your system has worked to keep you safe.

The Bridge to Interpersonal Neurobiology

Polyvagal Theory provides the map, but the next step is using relationship to bring that map to life. 
Our next blog post will explore Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) — how safe, supportive relationships, including the therapeutic relationship, help rewire the brain and nervous system for lasting change.

Final Thoughts

Just like a house needs a strong foundation or a garden needs rich soil, your nervous system needs stability and nourishment to thrive. Through Polyvagal-informed, bottom-up therapy, we gently mend the cracks caused by early trauma, creating space for you to feel safe, connected, and whole.

If you’re ready to begin your journey of healing, we’re here to walk with you.

Contact Kairos Counseling & Family Therapy:

Call: 214-253-9207

Email: Neddy@KairosCFT.com