05/04/2026
We can help you find more bandwidth!
I’ll just say it:
I am absolutely a bit of a fangirl when it comes to the work of Stephen Porges.
And I don’t say that lightly.
Because Polyvagal Theory fundamentally shifted how we understand behavior—not as willpower, not as character, but as a reflection of autonomic state (Porges, 2011).
That shift matters.
In my work, and in developing the Bandwidth Model, I often say:
Capacity is not character.
And access is not constant.
Polyvagal theory helps explain why access fluctuates.
It gives us a biological framework for understanding why someone can:
• Think clearly in one moment
• Feel overwhelmed in another
• Or shut down entirely under sustained demand
Not because their capacity disappeared—
but because their state changed.
Where this integrates directly into the Bandwidth Model:
Bandwidth = access to capacity.
And that access is state-dependent.
• In ventral states, bandwidth is high and flexible
• In sympathetic activation, bandwidth narrows and prioritizes survival
• In dorsal states, bandwidth can collapse significantly
Same nervous system.
Different levels of access.
These shifts reflect broader principles of physiological regulation and adaptive response under load (McEwen & Wingfield, 2003).
This is where a lot of coping strategies get misunderstood.
It’s not that people “aren’t trying hard enough.”
It’s not that the skills “don’t work.”
It’s that the intervention doesn’t match the available bandwidth.
Cognitive strategies, for example, rely on sufficient top-down access—something that becomes constrained under threat states as neural resources are reallocated toward survival (Miller & Cohen, 2001; Ochsner & Gross, 2005).
From a predictive processing perspective, the brain is continuously allocating resources based on perceived threat and uncertainty, adjusting what information is prioritized and what functions remain accessible (Friston, 2010; Barrett, 2017).
The graphic I’m sharing here reflects how I conceptualize this clinically:
Not as a list of coping skills—
but as state-dependent intervention matching.
Because:
• High bandwidth allows for top-down strategies (CBT, reframing, insight work)
• Partial bandwidth requires combined cognitive + somatic support
• Constrained bandwidth shifts us into bottom-up regulation
• Collapsed bandwidth requires gradual reactivation—not cognitive effort
• Fragmented states require stabilization and safety before anything else
This is also where the Bandwidth Model extends beyond polyvagal theory.
Because state is only one part of the equation.
Bandwidth is also shaped by:
• Load (cumulative physiological and environmental demand)
• Context Fit (the cost of functioning within a given environment)
When load exceeds available resources, access narrows—not because capacity disappears, but because it can no longer be sustained over time (McEwen & Wingfield, 2003).
And yes—this isn’t just theoretical for me.
I’m currently consulting on the development of a neurodivergent-affirming app for autistic children that integrates polyvagal-informed approaches… so this work very much shows up in real-world application.
I will openly admit it:
I’m a “Dr. Stephen Porges” fan.
Because when we stop interpreting behavior as a character issue
and start understanding it as a state- and bandwidth-dependent system response,
we change how we intervene.
And that changes outcomes.
Darcy Stephens, LPCC
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References (APA Style)
Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138.
McEwen, B. S., & Wingfield, J. C. (2003). The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine. Hormones and Behavior, 43(1), 2–15.
Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 167–202.
Ochsner, K. N., & Gross, J. J. (2005). The cognitive control of emotion. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(5), 242–249.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
