Three nervous‑system states show up in your body as different signals. Tap the cues you're feeling right now — we tally them into a best guess (sympathetic / ventral / dorsal) and suggest a regulation move.
Stephen Porges' polyvagal framework describes three core states: sympathetic (fight/flight), ventral vagal (safe/social), and dorsal vagal (shutdown/freeze). Most anxiety tools assume ventral vagal is available. This tool helps you see whether it is.
Two cues from one column usually outweigh three from another. The body is rarely "split" — pick the column with the strongest match.
This is a self‑report heuristic. People with trauma history may sit in dorsal states for long stretches; that warrants professional support, not just self‑help.
That happens during rapid swings. Pick the most intense column. Start there.
Ventrals the calm, social state — it's where regulation tools work best. The point is to get there, not to stay calm forever.