Why Polyvagal Theory Inspired My Parenting
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Every parent knows that emotions are often contagious. Whenever my own mood is cheerful and calm, my children seem to experience fewer meltdowns, but my experiences with stress seem to have the opposite effect on them (when I Even with our best efforts to mask). By understanding the contagious nature of this emotion, I learn how to nourish my nervous system by making time for activities (like exercise and mindfulness) that allow it to calm and rest. I started prioritizing things.
Attachment theorists agree that how a caregiver responds to a child's emotions influences the child's internal experiences, coping strategies, and even their relationship to physiology.
Similarly, when polyvagal theory was introduced in 1994, it provided yet another paradigm for assessing the influence of parental responses on children's emotional coping and physiology.
Polyvagal theory is a collection of hypotheses about the function of the body's vagus nerve and how it affects an individual's social connections, peace and security, and the experience of trauma, and was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. I did.
At the heart of the polyvagal theory is the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the largest nerve in mammals, extending from the cerebellum in the brain to many major organs and peripheral senses in the body. According to the polyvagal theory, the vagus nerve plays an important role in informing the brain about what is happening in the body, acting as a messenger that reports the functions of the body's major organs and peripheral sensory experiences to the brain. .
Dr. Porges explains that the major facial muscles involved in facial expressions are responsible for whether an individual's nervous system is receptive to engaging with others and is in a parasympathetic state of calm and recovery, or when the individual perceives threat or danger. He suggested that it reveals important safety cues about whether or not the person is safe.
Our nervous system is in a continuous process of perceiving information from the environment, such as the facial expressions and voices of others, and is constantly sensing cues of safety or danger. And they are associated with a state of calm and safety (associated with ventral vagus nerve activity) and fight-or-flight behavior, or inactivity when fight-or-flight behavior is insufficient to cope with a threat or demand. It constantly transitions between reactions.
Biological psychologists have recently challenged some of the assumptions underlying the polyvagal theory, questioning the influence of the dorsal (back) vagus nerve on the freezing response and suggesting that mammalian vagal circuitry is indeed The vagus nerve and its role in processing information from the environment and our emotional experiences continue to be studied, although some have questioned the assumption that it is unique to mammals.
Dr. Porges says that the most recently evolved ventral vagus nerve circuit is one that responds by being exposed to safety signals, whether social or internal, such as exhaling slowly to calm the body. It was suggested that the activity of the primitive dorsal vagus nerve could be suppressed. Although the evolutionary hierarchy underlying different parts of the vagus nerve is debated by researchers in biological psychology, Dr. Porges argues that the importance of safety signals that trigger the vagus nerve's calming response in interpersonal relationships raising awareness about
Parenting, meta-emotions, nervous system
According to Gottman, parents' attitudes and feelings toward emotions (a term he called meta-emotions) are another important source of safety signals that influence children's emotional coping and even physiology. That's what it means.
Gottman suggests that parental meta-emotions, or the thoughts and feelings parents have about themselves and their children's emotions, are key to fostering security and connection within the attachment, or that meta-emotions can lead to judgment and criticism. I have found that it is important if it is full. Lack of safety.
Examples of meta-emotions include anxiety (e.g., when parents want to protect their children from angry feelings because they perceive anger to be destructive) and resentment (e.g., when parents want to protect their children from feelings of anger because they perceive it to be destructive) and resentment (e.g., when parents want to protect their children from feelings of anger because they perceive anger to be destructive) and resentment (e.g., when parents want to protect their children from feelings of anger because they perceive anger to be destructive) (over children's grief), fueled by concerns about children. Thanks). Meta-emotions can be associated with critical and vindicating attitudes.
Vagus nerve essentials
Meta-emotions can be revealed through parental microexpressions, and aspects of polyvagal theory provide a useful schema to help understand the influence of nonverbal cues on the nervous system activity of others.
Fostering constructive meta-emotions and experiences of safety and peace
Gottman suggested that there are many attitudes and practices that support parents in fostering an experience of safety and connection with their children.
These include viewing “negative” emotions as opportunities for intimacy and education, automatically injecting positive emotions and reducing feelings of threat, and encouraging children to verbally label their emotions. , and involves linking emotional experiences with prefrontal cognitive processes, including introspection. (which in turn mediates their emotional experience). Other strategies to help parents help children experience safety and connection during emotional experiences include problem-solving with the child, setting behavioral limits, and coping with the situation. This includes discussing your goals and strategies.
Thanks to polyvagal theory, how I communicate safety and calming cues to my children is informed by the parenting coaching practices mentioned above, as well as nonverbal cues, including those related to meta-emotional attitudes. I am grateful that I am now more aware of my impact.
There is a lack of evidence regarding the assumptions underlying the polyvagal theory, such as the role of the dorsal vagus nerve in the freezing response and the evolutionary assumptions underlying the various vagal circuits, and it provides an oversimplified view of the nervous system. Despite its criticisms, polyvagal theory sheds light on the importance of the vagus nerve in our emotional experiences and interpersonal relationships (and research continues). For me personally, it continues to evoke an appreciation and awareness of the impact my nonverbal cues and emotional coaching practices have in fostering cues of safety and calm within children.
