Befriending Your Nervous System

Looking Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory

By: Deborah Dana LCSW

Narrated by: Deborah Dana LCSW

Harness the power of your nervous system to support healthy relationships and personal well-being.

Why is it that when you have a tense conversation with a boss, coworker, or partner, you feel like you’re staring down a charging rhinoceros? How is it that both situations cause a fight-or-flight response - and what can you learn from it?

As it turns out, the same neurological processes that cause unwanted stress can also be harnessed to summon relaxation, spaciousness, and equanimity. In Befriending Your Nervous System, clinician Deb Dana presents a simple, hopeful message: When you approach these subconscious processes with openness, mindful attention, and - above all - curiosity, you can gain the understanding necessary to shape their outcomes. Dana draws from the recent explosion of research in polyvagal theory, which posits that our most hardwired survival responses are regulated by the vagus nerve and can be consciously regulated through repeated exercises.

Here, you will learn:

• How to interpret the subtle language of the nervous system
• Present-moment awareness and the mechanics of choice
• Your personal “protection-connection” equation
• How to cultivate and savor positive nervous states
• Why it’s paramount that you examine your internalized stories about the world
• How to discover the stillness available in every moment
• What actually nourishes your autonomic nervous system
• The continuum of resilience
• T­­he process of reciprocity, rupture, and repair
• How to recognize physical cues of both safety and danger

Dana teaches how to work with the body’s innate ability to pick up social signals and cultivate “micro-moments” of safety, retraining your automatic responses to stress, conflict, and hardship. Including in-depth practices such as guided imagery, meditation, and ongoing self-inquiry, Befriending Your Nervous System offers a practical user’s manual for anyone seeking greater wellness, self-awareness, and emotional resilience.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2020 Deborah Dana, LCSW (P)2020 Sounds True

Really healing

I enjoyed the book. Deb’s voice is sooo soothing. I found it helped me to center and observe my own body and emotions.
I am not in the health profession.

I suffer from celiac disease and find my solar plexus is out of balance a lot. The book helped me to understand my nervous system much better.

I thought it was easy to understand and I have been doing the exercises and they are helping me.

Thank you so much for this book. It has saved me years in therapy.

This is exactly what I needed.

I suffered from extreme and ongoing abuse and neglect the first dozen years or so in my life, and until now there really was no hope for people like me. We really are deep in a well! Now I know that making the change I need is like changing the course of a mighty river. Just got to give it time and attention. And the incredible news is the strategies are so tiny and yet powerful.

Lovely, deep and elegant

Transformational journey that has been crafted and shared by a truly gentle, kind and masterful guide. Deb Dana presents the power of Polyvagal Theory in accessible and effective practices. I’m inspired as a meditation teacher in so many ways to give science and attention to the tender art of awakening informed by the nervous system. Very grateful. And the loving professional recording and production by soundstrue is noticeable. Kudos to Tami Simons and the team. 🙏

Best mental health recovery book to begin with!

The nervous system is not addressed properly by pharmaceuticals when the body has suffered physical and emotional trauma.

Shock, diseases and conflicts about the broken health care system make stress a huge challenge for the nervous system.

This is the most helpful information about understanding how to get your heart and mind to communicate properly with others too.

I pray it will help me reenter Standard care with an open heart. I have been in hospice one year....your book helped me get the courage to stand up to oncology once again.

I am the evidence you can survive breast cancer without going chemotherapy Land. Being told you have 1 year 2 at the most is horrible for the nervous system..I stand by Proverbs 18:21. 'the power if the tounge' It's 4 years 9 months of a 'Me and Jesus" journey.

I survive because Audible brings me books like these by folks trying to tell people how to process and communicate with Love and hope.

Thank you 😇 you touched me 💫🙆‍♀️

Regulating

This is a wonderful application of how to calm your nervous system using specific techniques. Deb has a pleasant voice and the class has a well-organized, casual pace. This book is ahead of its time.

Not worth the time and money to listen.

Well narrated, but the book essentially tells you to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings and relax. Not worth the money or time to listen since it wasn't anymore helpful than going to a relaxing meditation session.

Lots of hand waving

I was very hopeful when I first started this book, but it turns out there isn't science to back up this theory.

It sounds good, right? But when I started looking at the graphics they made less and less sense.

It has a whole vocabulary they made up to go with the theory, but as with many things in today's wellness marketplace, it isn't substantiated. Disappointing.

Not good as an audio book

Really wanted to learn all of this, but I’m going to have to buy the book. Not a good topic for an audio book.

Some value and insights but slow and belabored

This could have been a 12 minute TED talk. Or a 5 minute read on Medium.com