08/16/2025
DORSAL REST: The Most Important Polyvagal State for Coping with On-Going Trauma
In basic introductions to polyvagal theory, we learn about 3 nervous system states - safe and social, fight/flight, and freeze/shutdown. The safe and social state involves the Ventral Vagus nerve, the fight/flight state involves high activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and the freeze/shutdown state involves high activation of the Dorsal Vagus nerve.
From this simplistic explanation, it is easy to assume that engagement of the Dorsal Vagus nerve is something to be avoided. I have received emails asking “Is Dorsal the bad one?” and “What can I do to get out of Dorsal activation?”
I realize that some of the ways I have presented polyvagal info in the past contributed to this misunderstanding, and many of the sources I have referred people to have further solidified this false idea that Dorsal is bad.
In this post, I want to honor the Dorsal Vagus for its fantastic ability to multi-task, and I hope that by the end, perhaps your view of this nerve will have shifted.
DORSAL REST is a state of dorsal vagus activation that is supported by ventral vagus activation. The activation of the ventral vagus moderates the activity of the dorsal, so that the body system does not go into a freeze/shutdown state.
In this mixed state, we feel low energy or immobilization that is tolerable and not distressing. This state allows the body to rest and rebuild after injury, to properly digest food and absorb nutrition, to access meditative or spiritual states, and to sleep. With the help of the ventral vagus, the dorsal vagus offers us restoration, rejuvenation, and healing.
This is possibly the most important vagal state to know about for long-term trauma recovery, for long-haul covid recovery, and for coping with sysemic traumas that push us towards burnout. Our bodies require regular activation of the dorsal vagus to heal from normal wear and tear and more frequent activation of the dorsal vagus to heal from trauma.
When we run on high tone sympathetic energy for a long time (months to years), our adrenal resources become depleted. When we eventually crash, we flip from high energy anxiety and hypervigilence to exhaustion and loss of interest in high energy activities. If we cannot access safety at this point, we will become depressed, and the depression will last until we are able to access a sense of safety or refuge somewhere.
Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves or each other about being low energy are the biggest danger cues in our environment. Our society has labeled being low energy as lazy, incompetent, childish, and dysfunctional. When our self-talk is blaming or shaming us for being low energy, our bodies are less capable of using that low energy time for healing. Self-talk is of course not our only barrier to safety, but it is one of the few that is within our control.
Embracing Dorsal Rest has allowed me to better cope with PMDD, a cyclical type of depression that involves severe mood drops just before my period. Those 5-7 days each month still suck, but they suck a little less now that I understand low energy phases are a natural and normal part of my body’s self-healing process. I find that shifting my self-talk changes my experience of how distressing these low energy phases are for me. Thus I have been trying to reframe “sickness behaviors” as “healing behaviors.”
Here is my current list of 100% healthy “healing behaviors” which I find necessary when I am immobilized by my Dorsal Vagus…
Nesting & Naps
Comfort Food
Time and Space Alone
Low energy activities - listening to music, watching Netflix, reading, coloring, meditation, visualizations, breathwork, prayer, yin yoga, constructive rest, visiting with internalized others (inner mentor, inner child, etc)
Sensory Defences - shades drawn, headphones on, humidifier, soft blankets, temp set to a comfy range, etc etc
Doing “nothing” - day dreaming, spacing out, losing time
If I shame myself for any of these, I quickly find myself out of DORSAL REST and into DORSAL FREEZE.
I hope that this post gives you some permission to be slow and restful and know that this is exactly what your body needs.
Do you want to add something to this list? What other traditional “sickness behaviors” would you name as healthy and healing?
📆This text was first shared in 2021. PMDD is not part of my experience after HRT but I still use this list for other chronic illness flares.
📚 Free Infographics about Trauma, Nervous System, and Neurodiversity: linktr.ee/TraumaGeek
🧠 Blog: https://www.traumageek.com/blog
🌠 Want to learn more with me? I’m hosting an 8-week course focused on the big picture understanding of the nervous system, including connections between systemic trauma and chronic illness. We begin next week. https://traumageek.thinkific.com/courses/2025-summer-study-group
