Safe & Sound Protocol
The Safe and Sound protocol is an innovate listening therapy that works directly with the body to retune the nervous system in a way that supports balancing, connection and resiliency.
Also known as the SSP, this noninvasive treatment was born from the Polyvagal theory. For more information on Polyvagal Theory and it's perspectives on mental health, check out https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/whatispolyvagaltheory
If you're already familiar with Polyvagal or even have a basic understanding of the Flight, Fight and Freeze states, keep reading to discover how the SSP taps into our internal connection systems to shift us from a nervous system state of stress, to one of regulation.
Each moment, our system's neuroception filters are gathering information about the world.
If we are experiencing a moment of stress, overwhelm, overstimulation or threat, our body and mind work together to keep us safe, we temporarily loose access to parts of the brain that regulate our emotions and promote logical thinking. In moments of life threat, this is invaluable and can save our life. The survival systems best function as a short term solution but it can get stuck in chronic activation.
Over time, with on-going stress or a large significant stressor, the filtering process leans towards caution, meaning, the information (visual, auditory, somatic and cognitive) it gathers, reads DANGER in our environment and the system quickly jumps into survival modes. The more we are exposed to stress, the louder this alarm becomes. If our alarm system never deactivates (meaning the stress never seems to stop), we start to pick up cues of danger, even when the environment is actually safe. As overly sensitive alarm system can manifest as somatic anxiety, over thinking, worry thoughts, negative self-talk, dissociation, hypervigilance, digestive issues, memory loss and more.
The SSP is a holistic way to work directly with sound to shift the nervous system in and out of various states, while connecting to the state of safety. This broadens the ability to be in blended states such as calm and active, grounded and busy or safe and relaxed.
If we are able to maintain a connection to safety, we are capable of viewing tasks as challenges rather than threats. If we can access the ventral vagal energy of safety and connection, life no longer feels overwhelming all the time. The SSP is one of the many avenues to regulation.
For more information on how you can bring the SSP into your healing journey, call for a consultation today.