The recent election cycle in the US came on the heels of a global pandemic that plunged much of the world into prolonged states of confusion, fear, and isolation. As social structures frayed, waves of conflicting information eroded trust in authority and fueled skepticism toward Western medicine across the spectrum. Just as society began to recover from this destabilizing period, an intense, high-stakes political cycle in the US began, marked by aggressive rhetoric and tactics intended to deepen division. This climate, amplified by ongoing global conflicts, has kept the collective nervous system in a reactive state—locked in survival mode and braced for continued turmoil.
Polyvagal
Theory (PVT) provides insight into how the nervous system responds to stress,
illuminating the autonomic responses known as fight, flight, and freeze (FFF).
These responses, governed by the sympathetic branch of the nervous system,
activate in moments of perceived threat and can become habitually engaged when
stress is prolonged. When sympathetic dominance—these heightened FFF
responses—sets in, it often locks us into reactive emotional states,
undermining natural social bonds and compassion. In these states, primitive
defensive patterns take over, at the expense of empathy and the connection we
rely on to truly engage with our communities.
For
practitioners across all modalities, protecting our own parasympathetic tone
(e.g., vagal) is essential during this time. We are not unaffected by the
suffering around us, even if we are content with the results. Recognizing our
essential interconnectedness—and the truth that we genuinely need community—has
never been more important.
Primed for
Chaos
As we emerged
from the prolonged lockdowns of the pandemic, much of the population was
already in a reactive state, with sympathetic dominance firmly in place. Social
isolation, fear, and conflicting information had sensitized our nervous
systems, making us quick to interpret stress as a threat. The combative tone of
the election merely added fuel to the fire, re-triggering primitive instincts
that we activated during months of crisis. By the time the political campaigns
ramped up, we were primed for chaos, moving from one stress response to
another.
For those with
histories of PTSD, childhood abuse, or other long-term trauma, the sustained
political tension and hostile discourse were constant triggers. Ominous
messages implying threat kept survival responses on high alert. Reflexive
reactions—both emotional and physical—are involuntary, particularly for PTSD
and trauma survivors. They can be overwhelming since they are rooted in the
body’s most primitive defense mechanisms. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
(HPA) axis floods the body with stress hormones, clouding perception and
“misting the mind.” This fog of heightened reactivity distorts perception and
drives defensive, impulsive behavior, making it challenging to respond with
clarity or empathy.
Here, the value
of mindfulness becomes essential. It’s the practice of cultivating awareness
that helps us recognize and, over time, manage these responses.
From Crisis
to Compassion: Practitioners' Emotional Burden
The
parasympathetic nervous system doesn't just support rest, digestion, and
repair; it fosters a state of safety, calm, and emotional stability via the
limbic system. As practitioners, we face the challenge of holding space for
clients who are intensely impacted by these charged states. In this climate, we
are all affected. Practitioners—teachers, clergy, therapists, caregivers—are
often tapped out, struggling to maintain balance as we hold space for others.
During the 2016
election cycle, I saw clients across the political spectrum locked into states
of intense negative anticipation. For many, particularly women of color,
refugees, and abuse survivors, these fears were grounded in concerns about
losing healthcare protections and critical services, including immigration
status. Mixed-race officers felt torn in two by Black Lives Matter. Patients
with catastrophic histories shared their dread about being priced out of
insurance. Conspiracy theorists would vent about the state of democracy. For
months, my patients laid on the table and wept or raged, sharing deep concerns
about the future. Then came COVID, another toxic election cycle, an
insurrection, and repeated world conflict. Lather, rinse, repeat.
This highlights
a reality many in service professions face—whether in healthcare, education, or
emergency response. As the demands of caregiving take a toll, maintaining
parasympathetic balance is key. Self-sacrifice is so ingrained in our job
description that often, we don’t recognize how it affects our sense of well-being. Conditioned to prioritize others, we lose track of ourselves.
How do we
maintain our own nervous systems (e.g. vagal tone) in times of heightened
stress and emotional volatility?
Prioritizing
Ourselves: Reclaiming Balance in Service
Amidst the
chaos and emotional volatility of these times, finding ways to ground ourselves
becomes essential. Thich Nhat Hanh, a respected Buddhist teacher, emphasized
the importance of presence, especially in moments of reactivity. He taught that
we cannot serve others’ suffering without first tending to our own. In the
emotional currents that surround us, one way is to return to the breath. It’s easy to get lost in the tempest around us, but we can return to our breath, bring awareness back to the body
and calm the mind. By staying rooted in the present moment, we can prevent
ourselves from drowning in the tidal waves of others' pain.
Mindfulness
today goes beyond the “qualitative” or “touchy-feely” approach often
popularized in new-age circles. Rather, these are deliberate,
autonomically-focused practices designed to restore the parasympathetic flow
within the autonomic nervous system (ANS). For providers, these tools offer a
practical way to calm the nervous system in moments of heightened reactivity,
paving the way for both personal resilience and improved patient care. For
patients, these practices provide immediate relief to a charged system, and we
use these techniques in the clinic.
One of the most
valuable aspects of my own community is its inclusive, non-discriminatory
approach to healing the nervous system and leveraging neuroplasticity. Many of
these tools were instrumental in my own neurological recovery, and have helped
restore balance to my ANS. One of the monks said recently at a talk: “You can
be Buddhist and breathe. You can be Christian and breathe. You can be atheist
and breathe. You can be a scientist and breathe.” Beyond politics and rhetoric,
we are united in our shared humanity, a connection that begins with the breath,
most notably, our own.
Reclaiming Our Balance
Slow Down: Service roles often demand constant
action, but we can consciously slow our pace. That doesn’t necessarily mean
doing less, although that can be helpful. It means being present in each
moment. Taking a few deep breaths before responding, setting boundaries for
recovery, and checking in with ourselves before moving to the next task.
Slowing down fosters emotional resilience by preventing burnout and maintaining a connection to own nervous system. If you are in charge of your schedule,
consider seeing fewer patients for a week or two to make sure you are solid.
Earthing or
Grounding: Walking
barefoot (grass, soil or concrete) or using a grounding mat reconnects us to
the Earth’s negative energy, stabilizing the nervous system. Grounding not only
shifts us out of sympathetic dominance but also strengthens the parasympathetic
flow in the enteric nervous system. Earthing.com.
Engage the
Senses: Reconnect with
the physical environment in your immediate vicinity through the 5 senses,
particularly things you appreciate. Touch, pleasing sound, and color. Noticing
the textures, sounds, and colors around us without judgment grounds us in the
present and calms the mind. Sensory engagement creates a buffer against anxiety
and stress despite external chaos.
Body-Centered
Breathing: Deep,
intentional breathing calms the nervous system, along with pursing lips and
breathing though back pressure. Simple phrases like “calm” on the inhale and
“ease” on the exhale anchors the mind, allowing us to remain present and aware.
This practice regulates our nervous system, strengthening our emotional
resilience to maintain balance through difficult moments.
Notice
Internal Narratives: Mindfulness
involves recognizing and interrupting mental tapes—the internal monologues that
trigger both emotional and physiological reactions. In my Zen community, we
call this “watering the seeds” of unwanted emotions. By becoming aware of the
thoughts that fuel our stress responses (like anxiety about future events or
anger over perceived injustices), we can ask ourselves, “Am I ok right now?”
This practice stops the cascade of sympathetic charge to our autonomic nervous
system. Pay attention to the repetitive thoughts that provoke stress, whether
through fear, anger, powerlessness or excitement.
Turn Off the News: All sensory input, especially that which triggers emotional reactions, amplifies the sympathetic response, making it doubly taxing on the nervous system. Political turmoil and negative narratives fuel this response. They keep us engaged in finger-pointing, blame, and feelings of either superiority or powerlessness, none of which leave us present or calm. Excitement adds the same adrenaline to the HPA axis as fear-based patterns, so it can be helpful to minimize sensory input until things calm down. Social media amplifies primal instincts—reactions are quick and visceral, rather than thoughtful or compassionate. Platforms like Twitter, in particular, engage the “lizard brain,” prioritizing winning and survival over connection, escalating conflict.
Limit Media
Exposure for Children: The
constant cycle of negativity and fear in the media has a particularly damaging
impact on children, regardless of your party preference. Their developing
nervous systems are highly sensitive to emotional stimuli, distressing content
can trigger long-term effects on both their ANS and their limbic system. Too
much screen time adds to the sensory processing issues. Protecting them from
this constant barrage helps safeguard their autonomic regulation.
Engage in
Restorative Practices: Engage
in practices that restore balance and calm to the nervous system—whether
through mindful breathing, gentle movement, time in nature, or simply sitting
quietly. These practices fortify the parasympathetic nervous system, creating a
buffer against external and internal stress. Vigorous exercise is a powerful
tool for releasing anger or frustration so that it doesn’t remain a charge in
the ANS. When you feel the urge to blow, take it out at the gym or move the
wood pile (without thinking).
These practices
seem deceptively simple. So simple, in fact, that they are often dismissed.
They are not, however, easy. Clinically, they are restorative and provide relief to support the parasympathetic nervous system almost
instantly. Our internal triggers, meant to alert us to danger, often engage
outdated pathways that keep us stuck in reactivity. These well-worn patterns
flood the mind with stress hormones, cloud our perception and pull us further
from the present. Over the next several weeks, we can prioritize our own
well-being and that of our families to sustain our vagal tone. We can't help
others effectively if we don't first care for ourselves.
The Last
Democrat in Rural America
(Note: I
could not find the original article so is paraphrased to the best of my
recollection).
In a time where
political divisions and societal tensions run high, it’s easy to get swept up
in the current of opposition, finger-pointing, and the desire to
"win" the argument. However, true connection and healing come not
from being right, but from staying grounded in our shared humanity. By
prioritizing our relationships and focusing on empathy, we can shift the
narrative from division to cooperation.
This approach,
while challenging, lies at the heart of healing and building sustainable,
compassionate communities. It requires humility, and as we see in Colin
Peterson’s story, it’s possible to bridge the divides that politics, fear, and
anger often create. Colin Peterson was a long-time congressman from Minnesota.
Rather than adopting the lifestyle of a typical Washington politician, he
remained a dedicated farmer and stayed active in his rural community while
serving as chair of the agriculture subcommittee. He didn’t invest in a second
residence in D.C. or transition into lobbying; instead, he often slept on his
office floor during congressional sessions to return home as frequently as
possible to tend to his land.
A 2018 New York
Times article called “The Last Democrat in Rural America” highlights a striking
conversation when Peterson was asked whether political differences with his
long-time neighbor—who supported the opposing party—had strained their friendship.
Peterson responded with genuine surprise: “We agree on 90% of how things should
be done; we mostly just don’t agree on who should pay for it. Why would we let
the 10% where we don’t agree ruin a 40-year friendship?”
This response
highlights Peterson’s position as one of the few moderate Democrats in a region
shifting toward conservatism. His conversations with friends and constituents
revealed an individual both pragmatic and grounded. It reflects a rare ability
to prioritize common values and people over politics. His story reminds us of our shared humanity—something that’s often lost in
today’s politically charged climate.
Recent
political polarization over the last 15 years has led to a chronic
dehumanization of “the other.” People are no longer individuals but reduced to
“rivals” or dangerous under the influence of the fight-flight-freeze response.
It shifts perception to an all-or-nothing mentality that undermines meaningful
human connection. As providers, we too are under the barrage of emotional
volatility—whether from our clients, our families, or the larger collective. We
are not separate from this suffering. By prioritizing self-care and preserving
our own parasympathetic balance (vagal tone), we are more emotionally available
to foster presence and compassion in both ourselves and our patients.
References
Tons of
Resources Here: Down
the Polyvagal Rabbit Hole: The Bibliography
America in One
Room. (2019). America in One Room: A national experiment in civil dialogue.
Retrieved from https://cdd.stanford.edu/2019/america-in-one-room-report/
Buscaglia, L.
(1982). Living, loving, and learning. Ballantine Books.
New York Times.
(2018). The last Democrat in rural America. Retrieved from [URL - if
accessible; placeholder for memory-based source]
Porges, S. W.
(2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions,
attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.
Rosen, J.
(2021). Unshakable: Trauma, Resilience, and the Power to Overcome.
HarperCollins.
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