Why You Don’t Believe You Can Change
Most people believe change is possible. The harder question is whether you believe it’s possible for you. This episode makes the case that t...
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Health
Stuck Not Broken
Justin is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist that is obsessed with the Polyvagal Theory and applying it to everyday life - mental health, trauma, education, parenting and more. (Justin S...
Episodes
20 of 368 episodes
Stuck Not Broken: What It Means & Why it's Good to be Stuck
Stuck and broken are two very different problems, and which one you believe you are changes everything about what comes next. This is the ti...
Why You Stay Stuck in Trauma, Part 2: Cognitive Adaptations
You already know what Bill does. This episode is about what's underneath it: the stories he tells himself, the things he keeps quiet, and th...
Why You Stay Stuck in Trauma, Part 1: Behavioral Adaptations
Wild animals live with danger every day and don't get traumatized. So why do you stay stuck? In this episode, you'll meet Bill, a father, hu...
Co-Regulation, Explained: Polyvagal Theory
Your nervous system doesn't just calm down on its own — more often than you realize, it borrows the calm from somebody else. This episode co...
Self-Regulation, Explained: Polyvagal Theory
Sometimes the most useful information in the therapy room isn't in what someone says; it's in their hands. This episode breaks down self-reg...
The Vagal Brake, Explained: Polyvagal Theory
You can't just decide to calm down, but you can strengthen the thing that makes calming down possible. The vagal brake isn't a body part, it...
What is Trauma? The Two Paths: Polyvagal Theory
Trauma isn't the event. It's what happens afterward, when your nervous system gets stuck defending against something that's already over. Th...
Why Being "Too Nice" Can Be a Survival Strategy
Not every survival strategy looks like fighting back or running away. Sometimes it looks like befriending the person who's hurting you. This...
Why Can't You Just Sit Still and Relax?
Sitting still should be the easiest thing in the world, right? But for a lot of people, it's maybe the hardest. This episode moves into the...
The Play State: Polyvagal Theory
Wrestling with your kids. Trash-talking during a pickup game. Screaming through a game of tag. On paper, those look like danger cues, so why...
The Freeze Response, Explained: Polyvagal Theory
Freeze is not the same as shutdown, even though people use the words like they mean the same thing. Shutdown is a limp collapse. Freeze is t...
The Shutdown State: Dorsal Vagal Collapse
Sometimes the body's answer to too much isn't panic, it's the opposite: going quiet, going numb, wanting to disappear. That's shutdown, the...
The Fight or Flight State: Polyvagal Theory
Anxiety and anger can feel like opposites, but they are two sides of the same state. Fight or flight is your sympathetic nervous system mobi...
The Safety State: The Top of the Polyvagal Ladder
Safety is the state where life feels workable. Not perfect, just manageable. It's the top of the ladder and the place we're all reaching for...
Functional Freeze: Why You're On Edge but Also Distant
You're getting things done. Answering texts, making dinner, showing up. But underneath it you feel wired and flat at the same time, like you...
Story Follows State: Why Your Thoughts Aren't Random
Ever notice your thoughts get meaner when you feel bad, and softer when you feel good? That's not a coincidence, and it's not a flaw in you....
Neuroception for Beginners: Polyvagal Theory
Ever notice your thoughts get meaner when you feel bad, and softer when you feel good? That's not a coincidence, and it's not a flaw in you....
Deb Dana's Polyvagal Ladder
You can't just decide to calm down, sorry to say. The Polyvagal Ladder is a simple metaphor for how your nervous system moves: safety at the...
The Autonomic Nervous System, and the Polyvagal Theory (Explained Simply)
You don't decide to beat your heart, take your next breath, or digest your lunch. Something else runs all of that, every second, without che...