#15 - Wandering Around Vagus (WAV) - April 2024

Introduction to the hybrid states

Welcome to Month 15 of Wandering Around Vagus, a paid monthly subscription series exploring the Vagus Nerve + Polyvagal Theory.

I’m Tina Foster of Foster & Flourish, the creator and guide of Wandering Around Vagus.

A few quick notes to help you orient within our pages:

• If you’re new, or need a review, here’s the link to the START page.

• You can find last month’s post (our fourteenth) on the The Window of Tolerance here.

• Monthly & Supplementary Posts + Recordings can be accessed by topic from the navigation bar atop the Wandering Around Vagus Homepage.

• All past posts live on the archive page.​

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Before we begin: The end of this post might appear clipped by your email carrier. If so, just view it online on the archive page.

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THIS MONTH’S WORK

This month we enter a new realm of vagal connection, one that’s more nuanced and in many ways a more true-to-life depiction of the three primary experiential states (aka the “three autonomic states”) of the autonomic nervous system. I’m very excited to delve into a deeper layer and hope it resonates as much with you as with me.

As you likely know (and to review) the three autonomic states are ventral—a regulated state of connection, safety and flow, sympathetic—a more activated and mobilized state that includes fight-or-flight and dorsal—a downshifted state that includes “rest and digest” on one end of its spectrum and collapse or shutdown on the other.

You likely already sense that humans are complex and capable of experiencing multiple states simultaneously. The three primary states model we’ve been working with thus far has helped us grasp the basics of the vagus nerve and its function in the nervous system. Now that we’re versed in the basics, we’re ready for a more complex model that’s more true to life, which is where the hybrid states come in.

“Polyvagal theory argues that the three states of the autonomic nervous system listed above, the ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal states, are not mutually exclusive nor antagonistic but rather comingle and coexist to create a full spectrum of cognitive, relational, behavioral and emotional experiences. These coactivated states are called ‘hybrid states’. ¹

This month, we introduce these three hybrid states in a more cursory way. Next, we’ll focus deeper on one per month in the following three months.

Each of these three hybrid states exist as a combination of two primary states.

The three hybrid states are:

1. Play - combining ventral and sympathetic states

2. Intimacy (or sometimes called Stillness) - combining ventral and dorsal states

3. Freeze - combining sympathetic and dorsal

These three hybrid states speak to the complexity and depth of our lives. By existing, they also help us survive.

In Polyvagal Theory, Play and Intimacy “ensure survival through safety and connection. Play and intimacy nurture the human soul. They connect us on a deep and meaningful level, helping us bond to raise young, and to survive by working together. “ ²

Freeze is an “intense, stuck, rigid feeling” where the body doesn’t move “despite having muscle tension and energy to do so.” ³ Freeze is helpful to our survival in shutting our system down ASAP when our system is extremely overwhelmed and at risk of being damaged. It can also put our survival at risk if it’s not functioning as it’s meant to, activating at inappropriate times, for example.

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By the end of this 13 minute audio you’ll have a better sense of:

• how the three primary states combine to make more nuanced, hybrid states

• how complex we are + a little about how this complexity functions

• how hybrid states give us more possibility + add detail and meaning to our lives

• how the hybrid states work in your own life

• how awareness of the hybrid states can empower you and help you connect with yourself

• how the hybrid states can help you understand and connect with others

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