A Framework
Coming out of Shut Down
{55 minutes}
Coming out of Shutdown
Thawing Dorsality
The shutdown state is the oldest and deepest of the threat responses. It is the threat response of last resort, that called upon by the body in cases of impending lifethreat. It gives us the grace of dissociation, so we don’t have to be in the body while it is eaten. I invite you to consider the degree to which shutdown (dissociation) is the heart of modernity. Alienation = shutdown.
Coming out of shutdown states–identifying that they exist, and then learning how to resolve them–is one of the principal source of healing for many people. The shutdown states are at the heart of trauma. Knowing what they are, and then beginning to learn how to work with them, is absolutely critical to our healing.
Related Practices:
This is related to all things Polvyagal. See the Science of Safety (Polyvagal Theory). See Clinical Applications of Polyvagal Theory. If you'd like a brief introduction to the theory, visit our Brief Illustrated Guide to Polyvagal Theory. For a comprehensive exploration of the theory with its developer, see The Future of Medicine and Mental Health, with Dr. Stephen Porges, PhD. See Polyvagal Mapping. With regard to healing traumas and down-shifting other distress states, see Healing Trauma, Healing Neglect, Coming out of Fight, Coming out of Flight.Photography: Licensed from Pexels.com, used with permission.