Neuroception in the Wild

This weekend, I went mountain biking to see the fall colors at Kenosha Pass in Colorado. The fall colors never cease to amaze. It was a gloomy, cloudy day with the threat of rain. In the 10 miles I rode, I think there were five separate aspen groves and after mile 5, I was the only person out there, entering each aspen grove alone. Like a good spooky movie, the clouds were dark, each grove was creepier than the last one, and I was entering the unknown forest. After I survived the creepy aspen groves, I took a break to enjoy the fall colors. In front of me, there was a tree stump behind some aspens. I jumped, thinking it was a bear. Once I came to my senses, I realized it was just a tree stump and that my system was on high alert after riding alone for miles in the forest.

This is a great example of the concept, neuroception. Neuroception is essentially passive perception. There is a whole theory about our nervous system called polyvagal theory, which describes how our brain and body is working in tandem to keep us healthy and safe. Our nervous system has three parts. One part of our nervous system shuts down for protection, another puts us in fight or flight, and the other is when we are socially connected. There is more to it than that, but that is polyvagal theory in two sentences.

Neuroception is our Surveillance System

Neuroception is our brain-body’s surveillance system. Like a home security system, it is always scanning to see if there is danger or safety. An accurate security system alerts you when there is real danger like a burglar and runs in the background when all is safe. In the mountain biking example above, my neuroception was a little off because I was creeped out and not feeling totally safe all day. My neuroception was telling me there was danger when there wasn’t, probably because I was tired and aware that it is fall with animals preparing to hibernate.

All mammals have neuroception and it is a primitive part of us that picks up on things before the brain is even fully developed. It happens in our system before we have perception and our brain tries to make meaning. It is why a baby coos at his or her mom, but will cry if a stranger approaches. Neuroception is not cognitive, rather it is survival based, in our lizard brain, and felt in our body. Neuroception is why you might be doing something mundane and suddenly feel your heart beating fast. Your body picks up on cues of danger even if your brain does not yet register danger. If neuroception tells you that you need a survival response, the response is meant to be short lived and put you back in a state of safety. Staying chronically in a survival state has consequences for our body, relationships, and mental health.

3 Types of Neuroception

There are three types of neuroception, according to Deb Dana, the polyvagal guru. Deb Dana took Stephen Porge’s complicated polyvagal theory and made it palatable for therapists and the masses.
1. Outside- We are scanning our external environment for cues of safety and danger, i.e. is that a tree stump or a bear? Or when you see your therapist on video, you are scanning the things you see, hear, and feel.
2. Internal-interoception- The nervous system is paying attention to things within that might cause shifts including pain, hunger, illness, and relaxation.
3. Between-Our nervous systems interact and influence each other. We can pick up on a real smile and feel safe or a fake smile and feel distrusting. When there are cues of safety between two people’s nervous systems, this is called co-regulation, which is likely happening when you meet with a therapist.

Understanding our nervous system and a concept like neuroception helps us befriend our nervous system, be able to shift states, forgive ourselves, and learn how to respond to triggers. Sometimes, we may feel we are over reacting or not even understand why we were triggered and suddenly in a bad mood. For trauma survivors, you may feel as if you are always in danger. If we are in safe and calm place, our reactions might even seem irrational. However, understanding that our nervous system is picking up on things and shifting our internal state gives us a starting point to change.

For people with trauma and high anxiety, the surveillance system might be off. It could be constantly telling you that you’re in danger in an attempt to keep you safe. The surveillance system might also be so shut down that it is never telling you if you are in danger. When we learn how to regulate our nervous system, we can recalibrate neuroception so it is giving us accurate signals. We have to resolve the cues of danger and pay attention to cues of safety. Staying stuck in a survival response makes it hard to think, reflect, and connect with others, which we are wired for.

Rewiring the Nueral Circuits

Learning how to regulate your nervous system is the pathway to healing. It helps us more accurately resolve cues of danger and pay attention to cues of safety. Being able to shift between nervous system states makes it easier to connect with ourselves and others. Our neural circuits can be rewired to shift what our system is determining is threatening or safe. In the example above with the tree stump, non bear, I was able to notice the rest of my environment, get grounded, and quickly realize I was safe, so that I could go on with my bike ride and smile at all the nice people I saw on the trail. Without that ability, I may have felt frozen, panicked, or biked away really fast.

Trauma informed therapy, including EMDR, can help you better understand neuroception, your nervous system, and identify people, situations, and activities that help you feel safe. The first part of any trauma therapy is helping you regulate your nervous system, so that you feel safe. In therapy, you can learn how to self soothe, how to shift between nervous system states, and feel safe enough to let your guard down. When you are able to rewire your neural circuits, you are able to move forward, connect with others, and feel things like peace, joy, and calm. As Deb Dana stated, this is “the sciences of feeling safe enough to fall in love with life and take the risks of living.”