The dorsal vagal shutdown response, also known as hypoarousal, can feel like wading through molasses when you try to move. Everything feels exhausting, you have no energy, or maybe you feel numb inside—you can’t really feel anything. Good stuff happens, and you feel zilch. Food doesn’t taste good anymore. You have no motivation.
You just feel like curling up into a ball and never moving again. You don’t want to be around anyone, and you just shut down?
Or maybe everything seems fine in your life, good job, good friends, but you just can’t feel any joy in it?
Some might describe this as depression, but there’s another way to look at it. From a nervous system perspective this is called hypoarousal, the dorsal vagal response, or the shut-down state. And it’s closely related to trauma, especially childhood trauma.
In this post, we’re going to explore how our nervous system’s response to fear, adversity or trauma can get stuck in our body and trigger depression. And the good news is that this understanding opens up some great treatment options for both trauma and depression.
Nutshell
Real quick, we have to talk about what causes depression. In the past there has been an overly-simplified view of depression, that it was laziness or a simple chemical imbalance, (this theory has been disproven) but the truth is, depression is probably many different diseases with various underlying problems and the symptoms show up as depression. So why would underlying causes from grief, to trauma, to low self-esteem, to thyroid disorders, or lyme disease all show up with the same cluster of symptoms?
Depression is a universal response, we can find it in every country in the world, in modern first world office workers and in hunter-gatherer societies. Among the rich and the poor, the physically healthy and the sick.
Far from being a simple physical condition, Depression expert Charles Raison has said the one thing that all the various forms of depression have in common is that Depression is a universal response to being overwhelmed. It’s when the internal and external pressures trigger a switch in our brain and body from “I can handle this” to “I can’t handle this”.
This is a subconscious survival response in our nervous system. This is a flip that gets switched in our nervous system, and it can be really hard to unflip that switch.
Childhood trauma
Let’s use an example of childhood trauma. Let’s say that as a child, you saw your parents fight, a lot, and sometimes those fights would turn violent.
You would go from feeling safe to feeling terrified. This feels terribly dangerous for a kid (because it is), if your Dad was hurting your mom, maybe you tried to fight him off, to stop him, but that didn’t work and it put you in more danger, he was too strong, maybe you tried to run for help, but if you did you’d be punished worse, that put you in more danger, freezing up and watching them was also dangerous, and so all you could do was withdraw and hide in your room.
If this happened enough times, or the trauma was severe enough, or you were a sensitive soul, you would do anything you could to distract yourself, to detach, to numb yourself.
Maybe you would daydream about a hero coming in, or you being that hero, maybe you would turn on a show to escape.
When there’s nothing we can do to stop the danger or escape it, your nervous system protects you by making you freeze up and numb out.
And the threat doesn’t have to be physical, it can be caused by emotional threats as well.
So what’s going on in the nervous system?
Our nervous system has an instinctual response to a threat, most people have heard of the fight or flight response. But our threat response actually has a few levels to it.
Nervous System Response to Safety and Danger
Our default state is a state of safety. We feel calm, relaxed, we can connect with others, feel joy, and rest and digest. This is also called the ventral vagal state in the nervous system.
When you are faced by a small threat or one that you believe you can overcome, you increase your energy and fight, when you are faced with a bigger threat- you seek to escape, when the threat is so powerful that you can’t escape, you freeze, this is the sympathetic state, it’s an energetic, anxious, mobilized state in your nervous system.
And when (you believe) pain is imminent and inescapable- you shut down and detach, that’s the hypoarousal state. You may feel overwhelmed, exhausted, numb, frozen, or depressed. This is also known as a Dorsal Vagal response in the nervous system.
It’s interesting that there’s a difference between the freeze response and the shut down response, you can feel it in your body.
Let’s say you’re playing hide and seek and one of your friends is getting really close to finding you, that freeze response is paired with a ton of energy, bottled up inside of you. It’s a sympathetic or activated response. On the other hand, the shut-down response is a completely leaden feeling, it’s heavy, it’s exhausted, that’s because it’s a different nervous system state- a sympathetic state.
What causes The Dorsal Vagal Response?
Hypoarousal is a survival response, it’s when your body flips a switch from “I can overcome this” to “all my efforts seem pointless, let’s just conserve our energy”. This isn’t just about your thoughts. You can actually measure this state physiologically: your blood pressure drops and your heart rate slows. You’ll sometimes see this in videos of animals that have been trapped by scientists, after they’ve been released, they just seem frozen. It’s called “Tonic Immobility” Literally their muscles do not have tone until their nervous system resets.
This state can get triggered by one extreme trauma like being kidnapped, or by a low level but chronic stress- like constantly fighting discrimination in society.
It can be triggered by the death of a loved one- this is an overwhelming loss that you can’t fight your way out of. Or it can be caused by being stressed out and overwhelmed for too long by bills, work, family problems, or by a stream of negative thoughts telling you that you’re worthless.
Function of Hypoarousal/Dorsal Vagal/ Dissociation
This nervous system reaction to stress is not a disorder, it’s a primal nervous system response to protect you from pain, from harm, and to attempt to force you to rest and recover. You’ll see animals do this when they’re trapped, or overwhelmed by a predator.
If this is your survival response over and over, then you may have developed a habit of slipping into that state in order to protect yourself from other stressors, or trauma.
Ask yourself this question- did shutting down protect you in some way when you experienced trauma? Did going quiet, hiding, or withdrawing protect you from some hurt?
Whether it was physical abuse that you couldn’t fight off, or conflict with your parents, or hiding from shame or embarrassment, shutting down can be an effective survival response as a child. It’s a learned habit that’s hard to get out of. And it looks a whole lot like depression.
As we explore hypoarousal, it becomes clear that this is a form of dissociation– the body is protecting you from pain– it’s totally functional if you’re a gazelle getting chewed on by a cheetah, it prevents the gazelle from feeling much pain, and in some situations, like this video shows, it provides the gazelle a chance to escape and survive.
How about a low-level, chronic threat? Let’s say someone is facing slow starvation- the dorsal vagal response numbs you to the pain of hunger, dulls your appetite, and conserves energy by slowing heart rate, breathing, and metabolism. This shut down response could help you survive until food is available again.
But getting stuck in a dorsal vagal response is totally not functional if your negative thoughts trap you in a state of being unable to leave your bed.
Let’s talk about what hypoarousal feels like:
Characteristics of Hypoarousal
Symptoms of Depression | Symptoms of Both | Symptoms of Hypoarousal |
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt Irritability or restlessness Body aches/pain Suicidal thoughts | Feeling numb Detached Overwhelmed Hard time getting motivated Feeling frozen, Hopeless Helpless, sad or apathetic Difficulty moving Hard to feel any positive emotion Fatigue- feeling constantly tired, lack energy Difficulty concentrating, brain fog Disrupted sleep patterns Social withdrawal Changes in appetite | Muscle weakness Poor coordination Decreased sensitivity to stimuli (ie hot/cold) Low heart rate |
So what does this trauma have to do with depression?
Depression isn’t caused by trauma for everyone, your body can get overwhelmed by physical illness, or other situations where you lack resources, but when we look at how common trauma is, and how closely it’s connected with depression it’s probably a form of hyporarousal for many people.
If we look at the ACE’s study which explored the connection between childhood trauma and depression, people with 4 or more Adverse childhood experiences were more than 3 times as likely to develop depression than someone without childhood trauma.
What if it doesn’t seem like you’ve dealt with any huge threat?
Sometimes we subconsciously create our own overwhelming threat by sending ourselves little messages over and over that train your brain to feel hopeless. Thinking things like:
- “This will never work out”
- “I’d better expect the worst, so I don’t get disappointed”
- “I’m such a failure. Why bother trying. I’ll just mess up again”
- “People (all of them) are so awful. The world is so cruel. Everything is worse than it ever was.”
Can you see how constantly thinking like this on repeat is going to make you feel like it’s pointless to keep trying? Our nervous system doesn’t care if there is a real threat or a perceived threat. When we visualize something threatening or overwhelming, it triggers the same physiological response in our nervous system. This is why watching a scary movie can make your hands sweaty, you’re actually safe, but your brain is perceiving danger and turning on that fight or flight response.
Things that seem very small to an adult, can seem completely overwhelming to a child. A parent laughing at you, a friend bullying you, a peer rejecting you, a teacher correcting you. Living in a home where you don’t feel safe, where parents are unpredictable. This “small t” trauma can add up over time to reinforce that dorsal vagal response, the shutdown response, because you just don’t feel safe. You may have developed a habit of slipping into that state in order to protect yourself from other stressors, it’s a learned habit that’s hard to get out of. School is stressful- numb out and detach (I don’t care about school). You get in a fight with your friends “Nobody -likes me anyway, I’m not going to try”. Your parents are critical, “I’ll never match their expectations so why try?”
There are also things that perhaps seem normal in our culture, but over time wear us down.
- Pressure to over work, side hustle, or constantly be busy
- Internal or external pressure to be flawless
- News Media that fuels the belief that the world is more dangerous than ever
- Toxic relationships or work environments (and that can be physical toxins or mental toxins, our body and mind aren’t as separate as we’d like to believe)
When we constantly perceive danger all around us, or we lack the safety net of a loving and supportive family, our nervous system can literally flip a switch to the dorsal vagal response, leaving us feeling depressed, numb or hopeless. And when that has happened over and over, especially in childhood, this can wire our brain to be more likely to be depressed.
So if Depression is fueled by trauma, how can we treat it?
Slipping into the shutdown response isn’t something you’re doing on purpose, it’s not your fault, but there is something you can do about it. You can build up the ability to have more of a say about what your nervous system does and how it reacts. You can build up a more resilient and adaptable nervous system.
When you’re in a state of hypoarousal, it’s hard to process your feelings and engage with life, it’s hard to solve problems. When we learn to respond to situations in a more helpful way, we can re-train our nervous system to be healthier and regulate our emotions, expand our window of tolerance, and have healthier coping when facing stress and difficulties.
So first, learn to notice the physical things going on for you when you are feeling depressed or burnt out- what is going on in your body? What are your signs that you are in a state of hypoarousal? Start to name this state. “I’m noticing that I’m in the shut-down state”. This is easier with a therapist who is informed in somatic or polyvagal therapy.
So in session I would say something like “I notice that you’re going quiet, your body looks like it’s kinda slumped, or you’re curling up into a ball on my couch. What are you noticing?” “It seems like you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, are you starting to think that everything is hopeless?”
If they were super dissociated, we might spend the whole session exploring that numbness and also what connectedness to the present moment is like. Can you feel this stone? Hold it in your hands. grounding yourself in your senses (what can I feel? What can I see? What can I hear?) Describe it in detail.
The next step is to add in some movement
When we understand that depression might be a nervous system state, we understand that to go from hypoarousal to safety, we have to move through activation.
One of the best treatments for hypoarousal is physical movement.
Interestingly enough- exercise is also one of the most effective treatments for depression.
So, we show our brain that we are safe and capable by moving our body.
In session I might just switch over to ask a client to do some physical movement. Can you pat your legs? Can you sit up with your back straight? I’d try to make them laugh a little, by doing something ridiculous on my part (sometimes they just stare at me).
I mean of course doing aerobic exercise for 40 minutes a day is ideal, but even simple things like making your body big, shaking your arms, jiggling your legs, laughing really hard, dancing, waving, yoga, a five minute walk, all these things tell your body that here in this moment, you are safe and capable, and that sends a message to your brain, and you can start feeling better emotionally. Other things you can try include:
- Paced breathing, quick breathing, intense breathing – listen to or sing some upbeat music
- Using engaged posture
- Find something that will make you laugh, hard.
- Physical movement, such as standing up or switching chairs
- You can also try eating some crunchy or spicy foods to re-engage with your senses. Learn to listen to and reconnect with your body- the signals it is sending are ok.
The goal is to restore your sense of safety – which includes your ability to overcome threats or challenges.
3. The Third thing to consider is- How do we show our nervous system that we are safe and capable? When it knows this, it will automatically return to a sense of safety.
You could say something to yourself like “I know that as a child, withdrawing kept you safe. But now you’re an adult, you’re safe here and now. You can solve this problem by facing it.”
This might look like facing our fears, solving problems or leaving toxic environments.
-If you’re in an abusive relationship- leave.
-If you’re drowning in stress at work- sit down and make a plan to create a more sustainable approach (may I recommend the book Slow Productivity, or my video about burnout)
This is all about facing your stressors in small doses, and then you can naturally return to a state of calm and safety.
This can seem pretty impossible to do on your own, so I’d recommend that you work with a therapist to break this down into tiny steps.
Cognitive approaches:
- Build up resources– Show your brain that you have enough support to overcome challenges. Often it’s the perception that things are hopeless, not the reality. So we convince our brain by:
- Remind yourself of the good things in your life (gratitude practice)
- Remind yourself of the good things that you do (3gt exercise)
- Surround yourself with supportive people – one of the most effective ways to stop a trauma response is to connect with a safe and supportive human being- or animal- because this sends a message to your nervous system that you are safe.
- Stop believing thinking patterns that convince you that everything is awful and pointless surround yourself with hopeful people and messaging. For example, I am very selective about which news sources I watch, and I make sure to add in lots of “good news” channels.
Behavioral Approaches
One of the most effective treatments for depression is called Behavioral Activation, you take action before you feel like it. Maybe you feel overwhelmed that your house is a complete mess, you may think “why bother, you’ll never be able to clean it all, you’re too tired”. Well, start moving- just clean one area, one small area. That’s movement, it sends a message to your brain that you are capable.
Are your bills overwhelming? Are you drowning in Debt? Let’s make one small change, let’s make a budget, let’s cancel one subscription.
Struggling to eat healthy- let’s just swap one food for another (coke for diet coke)
As you start to take action first, before you feel better, this starts a feedback loop in your brain and body, and most likely you’ll begin to feel more energetic, more motivated. You’re shifting your nervous system state from the shut-down mode to the activated mode.
4. And lastly, sometimes the hypoarousal response is your body’s message that you must rest and take a break. You might be depleted, worn down. Sometimes you just need time to rest and recover, give yourself grace and compassion. Fill your body with good nutrients, give it gentle movement, treat yourself with love and surround yourself with supportive people. This can send a message to your nervous system that you are safe, and with all four of these practices, you can return to the ventral vagal or safe and sound state of your nervous system.
Summary
When we look at depression from a nervous system perspective, it gives us permission to be gentle with ourselves, to understand where these feelings are coming from, and some practical ways to work through them. Notice it, add in some movement, build your sense of safety, and take time to replenish your resources. If you’re dealing with trauma and depression, I hope this helps you take a small step today toward better mental health.
Thanks for watching and take care.
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