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Dr. Ashley Austin & Dr. Jennifer Williams As psychotherapists who teach, practice, and deeply value a neurobiologically informed approach to healing, we have been following the recent critique of Polyvagal Theory with both interest and care. We want to be clear about what we are—and are not—seeing in this moment. There are meaningful scientific questions being raised about specific aspects of Polyvagal Theory. These include whether branches of the vagus nerve can be cleanly m

In a world of 24‑hour headlines, your nervous system is doing something very understandable: it is trying to keep you alive in a reality that never seems to pause. Every “breaking news” banner, urgent notification, and distressing image becomes a tiny jolt to your threat response. The sympathetic nervous system—the part that prepares you to fight or flee—was never designed for a 24/7 stream of crises. It was built for short bursts of danger followed by rest and recovery.​ Whe