Watch this when
Polyvagal Theory: The 3 States of Anxiety in the Nervous System
Shutting down isn't you failing. It's your nervous system trying to protect you.
Who it's for
Many people who freeze, go numb or collapse under stress read that as laziness or weakness; a three-state map reframes it as a protective survival response.
Numb→Understood
Feelings it meets
What it is
A roughly 15-minute psychoeducational video by Emma McAdam, a licensed marriage and family therapist, on her Therapy in a Nutshell channel. It explains polyvagal theory's three nervous-system states: ventral vagal (safe and social), sympathetic (fight-or-flight, anxious and agitated) and dorsal vagal (shutdown and numbness).
Where to find it
YouTube, Therapy in a Nutshell (free). Written companion article at therapyinanutshell.com.
Before you start
Heads up: Brief mention of trauma and depression.
Age: Ages 12+
Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt.William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act 1, Scene 4
