The Stress Spectrum is described as positive, tolerable, and toxic. It refers to the stress response system's effects on the body, not the actual stressful experiences or events. Understanding the ...

Co-authored by Lotus Huyen Vu and Robert T. Muller, Ph.D. In 1994, Stephen Porges introduced the polyvagal theory, based on an evolutionary, neuropsychological understanding of the vagus nerve’s role ...

Your autonomic nervous system helps regulate emotional balance, but chronic stress or trauma can trigger an overactive fight-or-flight response. Nervous system dysregulation refers to a condition in ...

As Brazilian author Paulo Coelho writes, “You drown not by falling into a river but by staying submerged in it.” This is an apt metaphor for how trauma impacts people, individually and collectively.

Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neural biomarker involved in neurogenesis and long-term memory formation, do not appear to be altered by exposure to an adverse childhood ...

On social media, exercises that aim to “tone” one of our body’s longest nerves have been touted as a cure-all for anxiety and other psychological ailments. Here’s what the research says. By Christina ...