The Polyvagal Theory: How Trauma Symptoms Develop
United States Department of Homeland Security
Key Points
- Trauma affects both branches of the nervous system, sympathetic and parasympathetic.
- When faced with danger, our sympathetic nervous system reacts with fight or flight responses.
- If these are not possible, the parasympathetic nervous system reacts with a freeze response.
- People who have survived chronic trauma experience overactivation in both branches of the nervous system.
