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Neuroception – Our Subconscious Ability to Detect Threats, Risks, & Safety: Then and Now

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What is Neuroception?

Neuroception - Understanding Our Subconscious Abilities

In 2020, Space Between Counseling Services released a blog article about Neuroception, how to understand our subconscious abilities to detect threats, risks, and safety by our associate therapist, Noelle Benach, LCPC. In the past two years so many events have occurred, and policies have been put in place that fluctuated our sense of safety, threats, and risks. These include but are not limited to the coronavirus pandemic, school shootings and gun policies, and the Roe VS Wade law amendment. We have decided to expand on this blog article reflecting on what we are going through nowadays, hoping that it sheds light and helps you through the challenging moments we are all experiencing.

Sometimes our bodies respond to situations in fear, even if we do not consciously register that we are afraid or in the presence of a threat. Dr. Stephen Porges has coined the term Neuroception, which describes how our neural circuits distinguish whether stimuli are safe or dangerous. This often happens unbeknownst to us. According to Porges, “Because of our heritage as a species, neuroception takes place in the primitive parts of the brain, without our conscious awareness”. This post explores the connections between polyvagal theory, stress responses, neuroception, & post-traumatic growth.

Let’s take it step by step:

Understanding The Concept Neuroception 

Establishing Foundations in Polyvagal Theory & Stress Responses

To understand neuroception, it is vital to also comprehend polyvagal theory, also coined by Dr. Stephen Porges. The polyvagal theory asserts that our nervous system responses are comprised of three parts and are activated depending on the situation or state we are in:

  1. The sympathetic nervous system: is the accelerator that readies us for threats and puts us into “fight, flight or fawn” response.

  2. Dorsal Vagal: is activated in immediate or inescapable threat, when we feel we don’t have any option. It puts us in a state of “freeze and faint”.

  3. the parasympathetic nervous system/ventral vagal: is activated when safety and security is detected and the threat has passed. Our social system becomes reactivated, which is known as “Rest and Digest” response.

To learn more about polyvagal theory, we recommend reading The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication & Self-Regulation by Dr. Stephen Porges or the Polyvagal Theory in Practice blog post for Counseling Today by Dee Wagner.

Additionally, it is important to comprehend our body’s stress responses. You have likely heard of “fight or flight” to describe how people typically react in the face of a perceived threat. However, there are actually four ways that we respond to situations that we perceive as harmful:

So, let's briefly explain what happens to us regarding our thoughts, emotions, and actions in each type of response. Not all responses are maladaptive or unhealthy. It depends on how we respond to them. So to each type, there can be a healthy response and an unhealthy one, or in other words, when we are at our best or worst.

Photo by Clay Banks

Fight

When we are experiencing an unwanted or a threatening situation, we tend to feel like we are losing power or control. So we tend to fight in order to find a way to survive, in order to feel safe or secure again.

Unhealthy Response: Becoming aggressive, explosive, fighting, bullying, wanting to feel entitled to situations.

Healthy response: Increasing our self-awareness, setting healthy boundaries, having the courage to be vulnerable and seeking help, having the courage to be able to do things, articulate our emotions and needs.

Nowadays, with the mask mandate being canceled, we find some people still wear masks and some are not. Some of us are still worried about the pandemic or we are worried about the health of our families or loved ones. Some examples of healthy responses in this situation might be:

  • Asking the people around us to wear masks or to keep their distance if we are worried or feeling uncomfortable when we are in small spaces, instead of being aggressive or fighting for not wearing one.

  • Limiting social engagement in large groups or indoor spaces if it creates too much anxiety

  • Accepting that we all are making calculated risks regarding our health when engaging with others, but we may also be advantaged by our social or professional engagement.

  • Asking for help to cope and deal with other health-related anxiety

Photo by Bruno Nascimento

Flight

From its name, ‘flight’ refers to escaping and avoiding the situation . By all means running away from our perceived threats and problems - and not dealing with it.

Unhealthy Response: Not dealing with the situation or avoiding people, escaping all your responsibilities, seeking comfort and solace in drugs, alcohol, binging or excessively working.

Healthy Response: Giving yourself time or a healthy retreat, for example by disengaging from an uncomfortable situation or a conversation for some time, withdrawing from unhealthy or toxic relationships, or learning the ‘know-how’ approach, which is learning some practical knowledge on how to accomplish something even if it feel scary, risky or is outside your comfort zone.

With the recent school shootings and gun policies, you may question your physical safety. Many people avoid the situation or find solace in other things to not think about it. It is indeed very scary but avoiding the situation or isolating yourself because of the unpredictable threat isn’t the healthiest approach. Reach out for support to explore these scary feelings and thoughts. It can be to your loved ones, close friendships, or your therapist. We can learn to do things step by step to deal with this fear of unpredictability and any perceived threats that come along the way.

Photo by Jen Theodore

Freeze

Unlike the flight response, freeze is when individuals are stuck, or they stand still. In other words, individuals are not doing anything, they don’t overwork themselves or find solace in other things.

Sometimes, we experience it ourselves or hear people around us say “I don’t feel anything” or “I just feel numb.

Unhealthy Response: Dissociation – and that is when our body and mind are disconnected. we completely isolate ourselves. It is like completely shutting down where we don’t allow ourselves to connect with anything internal or external, including our surrounding, social relationships and most importantly our personal thoughts and feelings. We suppress them because we tend to feel very overwhelmed and under so much stress.

Healthy Response: Practicing mindfulness to help us be more grounded in the present moment and connect with our emotions and body sensation. It also helps increase our inner awareness and understand our needs. According to Dr Kim and Dr Hil “it relaxes the body and quiets the mind”

With the recent law amendments, including the Roe vs. Wade decision, many of us were left shocked and in pain by these changes. One response could have been feeling numbness and stillness – “how can something like this happen?”. Don’t suppress your anger or pain. Allow yourself to connect with your emotions as hard as it may be, and this can be through mediation, journaling, reading, or talking to your loved ones or your therapist.

Photo by Dimitar Belchev

Fawn

Fawn is molding ourselves to whatever the external situation wants us to be or act like. In other words, our response or our action is referred to as ‘people-pleasing behavior’.

Unhealthy response: Putting aside our needs and wants and solely focusing on what other people need, loss of self and feeling a sense of emptiness, creating co-dependent social relationships, being in toxic relationships, wanting to fix or change people, thinking we are worthless or not enough.

Healthy Response: having compassion, empathy and love for others, supporting and validating other people’s experiences and feelings – and of course simultaneously validating our own needs and feelings.

Going back to the previous example of the cancelation of the mask mandate, some of us are still worried, and that is okay! You are allowed to wear a mask and take the necessary precautions, without worrying that people will judge or mock you. Validating your own needs and feelings is very important. Like they say, ‘To each their own’ – you can respect that some people might be less worried or are not thinking about it as much and some are. Both are okay.

To familiarize yourself with these concepts and understand why these responses happen, it is recommended that you read a previous blog post that breaks down these four stress responses, Beyond Fight or Flight.

The True Power of Neuroception

Our brains are innately primed to assess all new situations for risk, danger, and safety. Our sensory organs, meaning our eyes (sense of sight), ears (sense of hearing), skin (sense of touch), nose (sense of smell), and tongue (sense of taste), immediately send messages to our brain upon the presence of new stimuli. According to Craig Weiner, “this process is initiated by our sense organs, which then communicates with lightning speed to our brain, a central and peripheral nervous system which then informs the rest of our body through electrical signals and chemical messengers, directing us towards the next action required to keep us safe.”

Neuroception can be observed in people of all ages, from infancy through late adulthood. According to Dr. Stephen Porges, “neuroception explains why a baby coos at a caregiver but cries at a stranger, or why a toddler enjoys a parent's embrace but views a hug from a stranger as an assault.”

Imagine enjoying a brisk walk through a wooded pathway by yourself. Your senses are providing you with bountiful information, most of which you will not consciously access. As you continue to progress down the path, you hear rustling in the bushes beside you. Before you can even think about the potential of an ominous threat shielded by the leaves, your sympathetic nervous system has already kicked into activation mode. You may notice that your heart rate has become elevated, along with your blood pressure. Your breath may become more rapid and your pupils begin to dilate. Your muscles become ready for action. Will you need to outrun a coyote, or perhaps fight off a masked stranger?

Moments later, a harmless deer trots out from behind the bushes. Even though the perception of threat has been rationally eliminated, you might notice continued indicators that your sympathetic nervous system is still in action. You may notice that your heart is still beating rapidly and heavily inside your chest. After some time, however, your parasympathetic nervous system will enable your body to return to homeostasis. Your heart rate and blood pressure will begin to drop. Digestion will commence again. Tension will fade.

Another example that some of us experience nowadays is anytime we have a sore throat, sneeze, cough, or have a minor headache. The first thing we do is we start scanning our bodies – we take our temperature, make sure we are smelling or tasting, or run to the closest pharmacy to buy the rapid covid test. Or even if we hear people around us coughing or sneezing. Our initial reaction would be to look around and check how close we are to them, and/or the first thought that comes to our mind is, “Do they have Covid”? 

What happens is that we enter the threat mode. We become worried about our health and/or the health of our loved ones. Our mind goes in all directions. We start to think about being isolated for the next five to ten days, if we have enough food at home, missing important work tasks or classes, or even missing out on social events or any other hobbies we enjoy.

For some individuals, especially those who have experienced trauma, neuroception seems to be triggered more often, even during times when threats are not present. According to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, this is because “trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust”. Additionally, Dr. Stephen Porges asserts that “faulty neuroception might lie at the root of several [diagnosable conditions] including autism, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, depression, and reactive attachment disorder.”

Photo by KVST

Exploring the IMPACTS of Faulty Neuroception

While the physiological symptoms caused by the sympathetic nervous system may be momentarily distressing, there are additional implications of having the stress response triggered.

According to Dr. Stephen Porges, “to switch effectively from defensive to social engagement strategies, the nervous system must do two things:

  1. Assess risk

  2. if the environment looks safe, inhibit the primitive defensive reactions to fight, flee, or freeze.

This means that we are unable to bond and establish relationships with others when our defense responses to perceived threats are active.

This shows up in everyday social interactions. Think about how you feel while you’re being introduced to a new co-worker or acquaintance. Do you instantly engage with them? Or do you hold back? What do your verbal and non-verbal cues signify? Small, often overlooked factors, such as the positioning of your feet towards or away from another person can hint at the level of alignment and security being experienced.

These seemingly individual social interactions can add up. Individuals who experience faulty neuroception may have trouble connecting with others, struggle to maintain meaningful relationships, and experience overall loneliness. Humans are social creatures. Just as we are innately wired to perceive threats, we are also innately wired for connection. Therefor, the consequences of loneliness and isolation are severe, as they contribute to a higher allostatic load, which can lead to both mental and physical health problems such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obesity, heart disease and organ failure.  

Photo by Alina Grubnyak

Rewiring Our Neural Circuits

Faulty neuroception can be challenging to rewire. According to Craig Weiner, “a plethora of past harm-inducing experiences can summate in such a way that makes it extremely difficult for a person to be able to over-ride or dampen the stress programming once it’s triggered by an environmental stimuli.” While it may be arduous, these neural circuits can be gradually rewired in order to modify what they determine as threatening or dangerous.

Let's clarify one thing: creating habits is not a negative thing. Habits are necessary to help us accomplish our day-to-day activities, like driving a car, walking, and learning or mastering skills in our personal and professional paths. But sometimes, we all have these desired changes to make but find it so difficult to do. Therefore, we feel our habits are limiting us, and we start to question: 

Why is it difficult to change our habits or beliefs? Why is it difficult to rewire? What happens to us when we want to modify our thoughts, emotions, or behaviors? 

It all begins with our neural pathway, which is the foundation of how we think, feel and act as human beings. Dr. Kim and Dr. Hil explore in their article "Neural Plasticity: 4 steps to change your Brain & Habits" how most people live in what we call an 'autopilot mode’. Our neural pathways are accustomed to traveling in a familiar path that takes the slightest effort to oneself or, in other words, a 'path of least resistance.' 

Therefore, when we want to change our habits and beliefs, our neural pathways find a new path to travel. Let's take an example of untying a knot; at the beginning, it feels challenging and stressful, but then we begin exploring and trying different ways of untying it. The same thing happens to our brains; our neural pathways start exploring new ways to travel, which can be stressful and challenging at the beginning, and then we either create new habits or beliefs or stick to old ones.

Let's take another real-life example: Back in 2020, with the rise of the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdown, we were all accustomed to new ways of living, working remotely, working out at home, buying our groceries online, finding things to do throughout our day while staying at home. Our whole living situation or routine has changed. Our neural pathway had to find a new pathway to travel. In the beginning, it was challenging, stressful, and to some, very boring. However, this new pathway that we all created became our new habits. 

After everything started reopening, to some people, it was a stressful and challenging time. For example, returning to the office, going back to in-person classes, or even when the government canceled the mask mandate – going out to the gym or grocery stores means putting their health and the health of their loved ones at risk.

Our brains and bodies got accustomed to certain habits during the global pandemic, and when our 'old normal life' was back, we had to adapt and find new ways to accommodate. Dr. Kim and Dr. Hil mention that old pathway naturally weaken when we practice traveling to new ones.

Photo by Claudio Schwarz

However, change is not easy. Sometimes we need support and help to make these changes.

Therefore, therapy, particularly trauma-informed counseling or Brainspotting can help individuals to explore and unpack the core emotional wounds that resulted in a traumatized individual’s now automatic responses to non-harmful stimuli.

Additionally, therapy can help clients in identifying environments, people, and other stimuli that allow them to experience the sensation of safety. Gradually, an understanding of neuroception, combined with coping mechanisms for self-soothing and co-regulation, these neural circuits can be rewired.

Want to learn more?

If you’re seeking more information about neuroception, polyvagal theory, stress responses, and/or trauma, I suggest the viewing these resources, which helped inform this post:

If you’re seeking additional support in your journey, therapy can offer a unique holding space for further exploration and understanding your own responses, coping mechanisms and triggers. To learn more about our team of therapists at Space Between Counseling Services, click the link below: