A common misconception is that nervous system health means being totally regulated and calm all the time. Neither Joe nor Jonny Miller has ever seen anyone achieve that — and it’s not the goal. A healthy nervous system is characterized by two qualities: capacity (being able to hold intensity without going into shutdown or overwhelm) and resilience (efficiently downshifting your state of arousal after stress without relying on substances).
Jonny explains through polyvagal theory that the ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal systems can all be online simultaneously — it’s not a toggle switch. Right now you might have some sympathetic activation (alertness) blended with ventral vagal (connection, safety). A healthy system responds adaptively to the situation rather than staying stuck in one state.
“A healthy nervous system is basically very dynamic — it responds adaptively to the situation.”
“Capacity is basically: I’m able to hold intensity and I have a strong ventral vagal tone, meaning that I can be with intense experiences without going into shutdown or going into overwhelm.”
Related Concepts
- Emotional fluidity defined
- Resisted stress harms, unresisted stress enlivens
- Breath regulates the nervous system