Awakening the Social Engagement Nervous System

This post is a primarily an excerpt from my recently published, book, The Breath of Life: An Introduction to Craniosacral Biodynamics. May it support your sense of well-being and presence in your life and the world!

In the 1990’s, neuroscientist, Stephen Porges discovered there is more to the autonomic scene than sympathetic and parasympathetic stress reactions. He noted that the Vagus nerve, commonly associated with the parasympathetic system, is actually more than one nerve. Calling his theory “polyvagal” (or many Vagal), he noted that only the old, dorsal Vagus nerve is responsible for parasympathetic immobilization. A different, newer, ventral Vagus nerve, arises from a different brain stem nucleus (nerve center), regulates the heart, supports self-soothing, and is closely associated with other cranial nerves involved with functions essential to social interaction, including facial expressions, speech, hearing, sucking, swallowing, and bonding. He called this the social engagement system. (e.g., Porges, 2001, 2011)

The social engagement nervous system is highly developed in mammals and especially primates, like us humans. Porges recognized that these three systems operate as a hierarchy, related to their evolutionary development. The parasympathetic system developed first. All creatures have the ability to immobilize when threatened. Even simple unicellular creatures will withdraw in reaction to a toxin or other danger in their environment. The parasympathetic system, present in all vertebrates, specializes in immobilization, both for rest and rejuvenation, and for defense.

The sympathetic system evolved later, as creatures developed more ability to mobilize, like amphibians and reptiles with their limbs. When confronted with danger, the sympathetic system enables us to be alert and to fight or fly. When mammals evolved, the third autonomic system came into being, as a way to ensure the safety of the young until they are old enough to protect themselves. The social engagement system supports bonding between babies and their mothers (and other caregivers). This involves endearing facial expressions, eye contact, sounds of maternal speech and baby responses. It underlies breastfeeding, including the sucking and swallowing. This system also facilitates social interactions on all levels. It is the social engagement system that recognizes and fosters safety in our relationships.

Take a moment to think about someone dear to you, someone who, if you saw this person right now, you would both smile and your heart would warm. It could be someone currently in your life, but it could also be a person from your past, even a pet you love. What’s important is that loving connection between you. Feel your eyes light up when you see them and imagine theirs doing the same. Feel the joy and warmth in your heart at meeting this special person. This is the social engagement system in action! (Thanks to John Chitty for inspiring this exercise.)

Porges noted that, when faced with threat, we as humans respond first with our most recently evolved system. The social engagement system enables us to look around and read the faces and body expressions of other humans nearby to help us assess if we are in danger. It also supports us in communicating and cooperating with each other to protect ourselves. As individuals, we are easy prey, being relatively small, weak animals. As a group we become a force to contend with. We can build villages, create shelter, share weapons, light fires, and strategize how to protect ourselves in the future.

We are born with our social engagement system online. Even as newborns, we respond to threat with our social engagement system first. If the social nervous system doesn’t solve the problem, the sympathetic system takes over. If we are unable to fight or run away, we revert to the oldest, parasympathetic system, withdrawing and freezing, as is common in infants. As described earlier, you can hear this in a baby’s cry, beginning as a social calling out for mother. If mom doesn’t come and the sense of danger persists, the cry begins to sound angry and impatient. These louder cries, as you know if you have ever heard a baby scream, are more difficult to ignore. If they don’t bring help, the baby stops crying and becomes very quiet. Such “good babies” who don’t fuss are often in a parasympathetic freeze state. These babies haven’t simply cried themselves out, as is often believed; they have reached a state of traumatic overwhelm or shock. Lets take a breath here. This can be shocking to read!

Consider that little ones are completely dependent on their caregivers for survival. Infants can’t mobilize to escape danger. When their attempts at social engagement aren’t met, their sympathetic nervous system activates. Their cry becomes louder and more demanding. They are, however, too small and weak to fight off attackers or run from them. Even if there is no aggressor apparent, babies feel unsafe when they are alone because of their extreme dependency and vulnerability. If their sympathetic surge has not brought a rescuing adult to them, they have no way to protect themselves. The only response remaining available to them is to withdraw and freeze. As primates in the jungle, this may be a highly adaptive response for an infant away from its parents. A crying infant attracts danger. A quiet one may be overlooked.

Many of us have been affected by very early trauma to varying degrees. We may at times react to others as if we were still little dependent babies needing to cry loudly or freeze and withdraw. Does this resonate for you at all? Or do you know anyone who tends to have angry reactions out of proportion to the event, or who dissociates or feels like running away and hiding?

An inspiring aspect of Porges’ work is research demonstrating that stimulating the social engagement nervous system can bring it back online where unresolved trauma has resulted in defensive nervous systems running the show.

Establishing safety in a therapeutic relationship can support this process. There are also specific ways to stimulate the Vagus nerve and other cranial nerves involved in social engagement. In Craniosacral Biodynamics we work specifically with these neural pathways. I find that prenatal and birth therapy is most effective when the emphasis is on establishing safety and engaging in present time, as is supported by the social engagement system. Continuum has also proved to be a valuable tool for stimulating this important nervous system to facilitate perceiving safety and staying in present time orientation.

This Tuesday, I am offering a webinar class, Awakening Health, Flow and Social Engagement to support this important aspect of healing. (If you are not able to join us on Tuesday, your registration will give you access to the video recording afterwards.)

 Whatever your process,  getting to know and stimulating your social engagement system is bound to be rewarding. Could it be time to awaken more fully?