1 00:00:00,110 --> 00:00:01,490 You know the poly vehicle theory. 2 00:00:01,820 --> 00:00:02,330 Now what? 3 00:00:02,570 --> 00:00:06,375 How do you apply this knowledge to your specific everyday life? 4 00:00:06,845 --> 00:00:07,910 What do you do with it? 5 00:00:08,330 --> 00:00:11,150 I'm sharing five tips to answer that one question. 6 00:00:11,540 --> 00:00:15,020 This episode is the third in the five part series. 7 00:00:15,695 --> 00:00:20,645 This tip focuses on bringing a smidgen of compassion to your stuck 8 00:00:20,645 --> 00:00:25,955 defensive polyvagal state through two skills, validating and normalizing. 9 00:00:25,985 --> 00:00:30,335 Don't let this scare you, I promise I'll make it easy and I'll walk you through it. 10 00:00:30,531 --> 00:00:34,371 Hey, my name's Justin Sunseri I'm a therapist and coach who helps you 11 00:00:34,371 --> 00:00:39,141 live more calmly, confidently, and connected without psychobabble or 12 00:00:39,621 --> 00:00:41,186 woowoo, welcome to Stuck Not Broken. 13 00:00:41,308 --> 00:00:44,968 This podcast is not therapy, nor is it intended to replace therapy. 14 00:00:47,218 --> 00:00:52,498 Ideally, we have lots of access to the ventral vagal safety state. 15 00:00:52,571 --> 00:00:54,131 Realistically we don't. 16 00:00:54,281 --> 00:00:58,511 This is true for all of us, but more so for you if you've lived through a 17 00:00:58,511 --> 00:01:04,631 traumatic incident or had a life full of traumatic incidents- plus what, 18 00:01:04,631 --> 00:01:09,821 whatever social and family layers that are just stacked on top of those. 19 00:01:10,601 --> 00:01:14,021 To put it simply, you could probably use a bit of compassion. 20 00:01:14,696 --> 00:01:21,506 Some understanding, some empathy, validation, and to just feel normal. 21 00:01:21,716 --> 00:01:25,976 The problem is that neither you nor I can make that happen. 22 00:01:25,976 --> 00:01:29,501 We don't control other people, but I can teach you to provide 23 00:01:29,501 --> 00:01:31,661 that for yourself in a few steps. 24 00:01:32,321 --> 00:01:34,781 Our goal in this episode is to validate. 25 00:01:35,141 --> 00:01:37,451 And to normalize your experience. 26 00:01:38,081 --> 00:01:41,711 To teach you this, I'm actually going to use the slides and lessons that 27 00:01:41,711 --> 00:01:44,111 I use within the Unstucking Academy. 28 00:01:44,111 --> 00:01:46,511 So if you're on YouTube, you'll be able to see those. 29 00:01:47,201 --> 00:01:50,171 I use these lessons within the courses and the live practices. 30 00:01:50,171 --> 00:01:55,121 So this is kind of a inside peek into how things work in the community, 31 00:01:55,661 --> 00:01:59,531 along with the third Polyvagal theory tip for everyday life. 32 00:02:00,392 --> 00:02:02,822 All right, so let's do a skills practice here. 33 00:02:02,822 --> 00:02:05,162 The first part of it is validating. 34 00:02:05,852 --> 00:02:09,932 We're gonna cover what it is, why we would do it, why we'd validate, and 35 00:02:09,932 --> 00:02:11,912 then do a really light, easy practice. 36 00:02:12,152 --> 00:02:15,692 Validating means that we are acknowledging what is true and 37 00:02:15,692 --> 00:02:18,512 we are more concerned with the internal world than anything else. 38 00:02:18,512 --> 00:02:23,702 So typically we're gonna validate or acknowledge what is true in our emotions 39 00:02:23,702 --> 00:02:26,642 and in our cognitions, our our thoughts. 40 00:02:26,736 --> 00:02:29,642 that's typically gonna be more accessible than things like our 41 00:02:29,702 --> 00:02:33,842 underlying impulses and sensations that come from a polyvagal state. 42 00:02:33,842 --> 00:02:36,932 So emotions and thoughts are typically gonna be what we could validate. 43 00:02:37,532 --> 00:02:38,552 It sounds like. 44 00:02:38,987 --> 00:02:39,947 I feel sad. 45 00:02:40,607 --> 00:02:41,387 I'm angry. 46 00:02:41,447 --> 00:02:43,277 I feel nothing or I feel hopeful. 47 00:02:43,277 --> 00:02:47,657 So we can validate things that feel good and thing things that don't feel good. 48 00:02:47,821 --> 00:02:53,311 validation is not being okay with or liking what you acknowledge. 49 00:02:53,371 --> 00:02:54,811 I'm not asking you to be okay with it. 50 00:02:55,441 --> 00:02:56,971 And it's also not accepting it either. 51 00:02:56,971 --> 00:02:58,321 You don't have to accept that it's permanent. 52 00:02:58,771 --> 00:03:00,751 You don't have to like it, and you don't have to accept it. 53 00:03:00,781 --> 00:03:03,061 We just have to recognize what is true. 54 00:03:03,260 --> 00:03:06,680 Invalidation is judging yourself, saying things like, 55 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:07,910 there's something wrong with me. 56 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:09,590 Other people aren't like this. 57 00:03:09,590 --> 00:03:11,090 That would be invalidating. 58 00:03:12,050 --> 00:03:14,990 Invalidation also uses what I call cognitive skills. 59 00:03:14,990 --> 00:03:20,240 These are things that we do to lessen the true nature of what we're going through. 60 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,900 That reduce the overwhelming nature of those things. 61 00:03:24,380 --> 00:03:28,430 So that would be like minimizing, denying repressing. 62 00:03:28,790 --> 00:03:31,491 That would be invalidating it. 63 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:33,560 It could sound like it's not a big deal. 64 00:03:34,010 --> 00:03:35,600 I just need to keep my mind off of it. 65 00:03:37,460 --> 00:03:41,690 Invalidation is also not labeling or diagnosing your 66 00:03:41,690 --> 00:03:43,160 experience, your true experience. 67 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:48,440 So saying, I feel distracted because of my AD/HD would be. 68 00:03:48,785 --> 00:03:52,775 Invalidating to the true experience of distraction. 69 00:03:53,345 --> 00:03:58,055 It's enough to say, I feel distracted, or I am distracted, or I feel 70 00:03:58,055 --> 00:04:02,015 overwhelmed rather than I feel overwhelmed because of X, Y, or Z. 71 00:04:02,705 --> 00:04:07,085 And I think we tend to over diagnose, um, in the therapeutic 72 00:04:07,085 --> 00:04:09,245 world, but also ourselves. 73 00:04:09,665 --> 00:04:16,625 I am positive that you may have tried to find a label for what you're feeling. 74 00:04:17,285 --> 00:04:22,685 And that you think of what you feel as a symptom of some sort of disorder rather 75 00:04:22,685 --> 00:04:30,365 than the natural consequence of your life, the expected, uh, consequence or expected 76 00:04:30,365 --> 00:04:32,285 result of the life that you've lived. 77 00:04:32,285 --> 00:04:34,265 And we'll talk about that next in normalizing. 78 00:04:34,294 --> 00:04:35,114 So why would we do this? 79 00:04:35,319 --> 00:04:37,329 You might say, I don't want to think about this stuff. 80 00:04:37,329 --> 00:04:37,959 I don't want to. 81 00:04:38,769 --> 00:04:39,189 Feel it. 82 00:04:39,189 --> 00:04:40,029 I don't wanna talk about it. 83 00:04:40,029 --> 00:04:41,559 Justin, why the heck would I validate? 84 00:04:42,219 --> 00:04:43,749 Well, how can you get unstuck if you don't? 85 00:04:43,959 --> 00:04:48,189 If you don't acknowledge what's true, if you don't acknowledge how your stuck 86 00:04:48,189 --> 00:04:51,699 state shows up, how do you get unstuck? 87 00:04:52,059 --> 00:04:53,229 We have to be truthful. 88 00:04:53,229 --> 00:04:55,599 We have to acknowledge what is happening. 89 00:04:56,439 --> 00:04:57,669 What would the alternative be? 90 00:04:57,669 --> 00:05:03,849 To continue to repress and minimize and ignore or whatever's, you 91 00:05:03,849 --> 00:05:04,779 know, whatever you're doing? 92 00:05:04,779 --> 00:05:06,669 Maybe if there's some sort of behavioral adaptation. 93 00:05:07,449 --> 00:05:13,539 Like overeating over exercising, overworking, or underworking or whatever. 94 00:05:13,539 --> 00:05:18,939 Like that's the alternative is just to keep your mind off it, to keep your, you 95 00:05:18,939 --> 00:05:20,769 know, out of your body, to not feel it? 96 00:05:21,429 --> 00:05:26,032 That, those skills or those coping skills, those behavioral adaptations, 97 00:05:26,032 --> 00:05:30,112 have served a purpose and gotten you this far and okay, but. 98 00:05:30,892 --> 00:05:34,882 It may not be working anymore or it may not be postponing 99 00:05:34,882 --> 00:05:36,772 the issue like it used to. 100 00:05:36,772 --> 00:05:38,422 So it just, it's time for something different. 101 00:05:38,752 --> 00:05:40,132 And that's why we validate. 102 00:05:41,152 --> 00:05:42,592 Have these other things made your life better? 103 00:05:42,592 --> 00:05:43,252 I, I doubt it. 104 00:05:43,822 --> 00:05:47,572 Again, they may have gotten you here, but that's different than living 105 00:05:47,572 --> 00:05:50,392 a fulfilling life that's different than finding actual happiness. 106 00:05:50,392 --> 00:05:52,222 That's, um, that's just keeping your mind off stuff. 107 00:05:52,222 --> 00:05:53,092 And that has a role. 108 00:05:53,482 --> 00:05:55,312 But I think that may be played out at this point. 109 00:05:55,637 --> 00:05:58,637 you validate through acknowledging what is true. 110 00:05:59,027 --> 00:06:03,077 Honesty is a huge part of validation and you validate 111 00:06:03,317 --> 00:06:05,057 through being honest with yourself. 112 00:06:05,057 --> 00:06:08,237 Your feelings are there and and be honest about that. 113 00:06:08,717 --> 00:06:09,647 You're not making this up. 114 00:06:10,247 --> 00:06:11,177 It's not random. 115 00:06:11,897 --> 00:06:16,037 You do have some level of stuck defense, like just we can start with those pieces. 116 00:06:16,517 --> 00:06:17,177 That's honest. 117 00:06:18,512 --> 00:06:22,262 And you validate through connecting with the present moment and whatever it brings. 118 00:06:22,594 --> 00:06:25,684 You connect with the present moment through grounding and safety, using 119 00:06:25,684 --> 00:06:30,274 your senses and then, uh, looking inward, and you would validate 120 00:06:30,334 --> 00:06:34,444 by noticing what you have inside of you and being honest about it. 121 00:06:34,444 --> 00:06:34,864 Naming it. 122 00:06:35,118 --> 00:06:37,278 The good news is you've already validated, you're here, you're 123 00:06:37,278 --> 00:06:41,508 listening to this podcast episode, so you've already validated yourself. 124 00:06:41,508 --> 00:06:46,488 Something is uncomfortable enough for you to be honest and then to 125 00:06:46,488 --> 00:06:47,508 do something about it as well. 126 00:06:47,508 --> 00:06:50,178 So you didn't just validate, you actually are doing something about it as well. 127 00:06:50,178 --> 00:06:50,928 Congratulations. 128 00:06:52,818 --> 00:06:55,248 So let's shift into a a light practice. 129 00:06:55,363 --> 00:06:57,438 I'm gonna ask you to reflect on these questions. 130 00:06:58,563 --> 00:07:02,553 First, uh, number one, could you validate somebody else's emotions? 131 00:07:03,513 --> 00:07:06,213 Could you acknowledge and name them? 132 00:07:06,243 --> 00:07:06,873 Their emotions? 133 00:07:06,873 --> 00:07:07,773 And I, I bet you could. 134 00:07:09,993 --> 00:07:13,803 So number two, could a therapist or other helper validate your emotions? 135 00:07:14,103 --> 00:07:16,833 Could they acknowledge and name what you're going through? 136 00:07:16,893 --> 00:07:18,003 And I would hope they could. 137 00:07:19,623 --> 00:07:22,653 And number three, can you validate yourself? 138 00:07:23,013 --> 00:07:27,003 This might be diff more difficult and your answer might be, "I don't know how to, but 139 00:07:27,003 --> 00:07:29,043 I want to," and we'll take care of that. 140 00:07:29,043 --> 00:07:34,203 On the next slide, your answer might be, "no, I can't. I don't want to, 141 00:07:34,203 --> 00:07:37,683 and I won't." And at which point, I hope that you've enjoyed this episode 142 00:07:37,683 --> 00:07:39,123 and I hope I see you the next one. 143 00:07:39,843 --> 00:07:42,123 'cause everything beyond this may not be helpful for you. 144 00:07:42,737 --> 00:07:45,647 Before we try validating, how do you feel about validating? 145 00:07:46,607 --> 00:07:47,957 What, what comes up inside of you? 146 00:07:47,957 --> 00:07:49,637 What emotions come up? 147 00:07:50,357 --> 00:07:52,337 What thoughts pop into your brain? 148 00:07:53,267 --> 00:07:57,737 How do you feel about validating your true experiences that maybe you 149 00:07:57,737 --> 00:08:00,467 have been minimizing or repressing? 150 00:08:01,727 --> 00:08:05,717 And if you can name that, if you can say, "I feel anxiety about it, 151 00:08:05,717 --> 00:08:07,187 I feel fear, I feel overwhelmed." 152 00:08:07,907 --> 00:08:10,697 Congratulations, you have validated yourself. 153 00:08:10,812 --> 00:08:12,432 So let's try validating. 154 00:08:12,852 --> 00:08:18,072 One experience of your stuck defensive state or just whatever you're currently 155 00:08:18,072 --> 00:08:19,572 experiencing right now, that's fine too. 156 00:08:20,202 --> 00:08:23,532 But let's say you're in a stuck fight state and you feel anger all the time. 157 00:08:23,532 --> 00:08:26,952 Well, you would validate it by saying, "I feel anger." "I do 158 00:08:26,952 --> 00:08:29,262 feel anger." That's one way. 159 00:08:29,262 --> 00:08:30,012 So just fill in the blank. 160 00:08:30,012 --> 00:08:31,452 I do feel blank. 161 00:08:31,772 --> 00:08:36,692 If you have a stuck shutdown state, you could probably validate experiences 162 00:08:36,692 --> 00:08:39,092 like hopeless or unmotivated. 163 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:40,560 So fill in the blank again. 164 00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:41,790 I do feel blank. 165 00:08:42,125 --> 00:08:45,900 I, I don't like it, but I feel blank. 166 00:08:48,330 --> 00:08:51,990 I hate to admit it, but yeah, I feel blank. 167 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:55,560 And yeah, fine. 168 00:08:55,590 --> 00:08:58,680 Justin, I guess I do feel blank. 169 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,290 So how did that feel to validate yourself to, to name, to acknowledge 170 00:09:07,290 --> 00:09:11,220 and name one emotion or one thing that you're going through? 171 00:09:11,220 --> 00:09:12,300 How did that feel? 172 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:18,330 And you might say it was uncomfortable, it was anxiety producing, or 173 00:09:18,330 --> 00:09:20,670 maybe another emotion surfaced. 174 00:09:20,700 --> 00:09:24,390 And if you can name how it feels to validate yourself, 175 00:09:24,420 --> 00:09:27,570 congratulations, you have validated yourself yet again. 176 00:09:27,570 --> 00:09:28,950 You are on a roll here. 177 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:32,160 The next thing we're gonna go to is normalizing. 178 00:09:32,430 --> 00:09:33,060 So what is it? 179 00:09:33,060 --> 00:09:33,840 Why would we do it? 180 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,540 And then we'll do a practice, just like we did with validation. 181 00:09:37,290 --> 00:09:41,760 Normalization is not being okay with or liking your valid experience. 182 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:42,840 I'm not asking you to do that. 183 00:09:43,590 --> 00:09:47,760 It is not, uh, accepting that your experience is permanent either. 184 00:09:48,180 --> 00:09:49,140 I'm not asking you to do that. 185 00:09:49,260 --> 00:09:51,210 You don't have to like it, you don't have to accept it. 186 00:09:51,825 --> 00:09:55,425 But what we wanna do is validate it and then normalize it. 187 00:09:55,815 --> 00:09:58,095 Normalization is also not judging yourself. 188 00:09:58,095 --> 00:10:01,845 It's not using those cognitive skills I talked about, and it's not labeling 189 00:10:01,845 --> 00:10:05,655 or diagnosing your valid experience. 190 00:10:06,615 --> 00:10:07,155 So what is it? 191 00:10:07,725 --> 00:10:13,905 Normalization means making sense of your valid experience based on context. 192 00:10:13,905 --> 00:10:18,585 And that context would be, uh, past and present context 'cause 193 00:10:18,585 --> 00:10:19,455 the future's not here yet. 194 00:10:21,050 --> 00:10:24,050 I'm gonna ask you a weird question and just whatever pops 195 00:10:24,050 --> 00:10:25,850 in your mind, just roll with it. 196 00:10:27,950 --> 00:10:30,020 Is the number five normal? 197 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:31,070 That's the question. 198 00:10:31,070 --> 00:10:32,780 Is the number five normal? 199 00:10:35,780 --> 00:10:38,180 Does the number five make sense? 200 00:10:40,790 --> 00:10:42,170 If you're confused, that's fine. 201 00:10:43,010 --> 00:10:44,300 If you have an answer, that's fine too. 202 00:10:44,300 --> 00:10:47,450 I, I would love to read what your answers are. 203 00:10:47,450 --> 00:10:48,890 If you're on YouTube, put 'em in the comments. 204 00:10:48,890 --> 00:10:52,190 I would love to read what your initial answers are to this. 205 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:54,560 Well, let, let's, let's build on it. 206 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:55,190 I'm not gonna leave you hanging. 207 00:10:55,190 --> 00:10:56,000 Let's build on this. 208 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,950 Is five a normal result of two plus three? 209 00:11:05,525 --> 00:11:06,665 I would hope you say yes. 210 00:11:07,535 --> 00:11:12,395 Does five make sense within the context of four plus one? 211 00:11:13,955 --> 00:11:16,115 I would, again, hope you would say yes. 212 00:11:16,115 --> 00:11:18,995 So let's follow this logic. 213 00:11:18,995 --> 00:11:25,685 Is your stuck state normal or expected as a result of your life context? 214 00:11:29,945 --> 00:11:36,485 Does your stuck state make sense within the context of your 215 00:11:36,515 --> 00:11:42,365 relationships, your attachment, your professional life, and on and on? 216 00:11:42,365 --> 00:11:48,580 When you take these different pieces of context, text into mind, born to 217 00:11:48,580 --> 00:11:53,945 account, does your stuck state make sense based on present and past context? 218 00:11:56,330 --> 00:11:58,820 I believe that your stuck state makes sense. 219 00:11:58,820 --> 00:12:04,220 I, all my client work therapy and, and coaching and my couples therapy, my, 220 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,510 my, uh, group stuff, my psychoeducation stuff, the community I'm running, 221 00:12:09,110 --> 00:12:10,700 it seems to always make sense. 222 00:12:11,750 --> 00:12:12,980 It doesn't seem to be random to me. 223 00:12:14,300 --> 00:12:17,630 So I believe that your emotional and cognitive experiences 224 00:12:17,630 --> 00:12:18,290 are there for a reason. 225 00:12:18,290 --> 00:12:18,830 They're not random. 226 00:12:19,970 --> 00:12:24,590 They are the response to some sort of danger in your environment. 227 00:12:25,910 --> 00:12:26,990 And that could be passed. 228 00:12:26,990 --> 00:12:30,320 It could be present, it could be maybe not literal, like you're being 229 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:35,060 attacked, but the way you were raised, the lack of attachment, lack of healthy 230 00:12:35,060 --> 00:12:39,065 attachment, the lack of love, the lack of healthy communication, or maybe 231 00:12:39,140 --> 00:12:40,370 the outright danger in your home. 232 00:12:40,970 --> 00:12:45,770 You intercepted danger and maybe you got stuck there. 233 00:12:47,180 --> 00:12:47,570 That's. 234 00:12:48,170 --> 00:12:54,470 An expected outcome of certain types of homes or relationships 235 00:12:54,470 --> 00:12:57,230 or lifestyles, it makes sense. 236 00:12:57,260 --> 00:13:00,500 Why would somebody would be stuck in defense based on that context? 237 00:13:01,910 --> 00:13:04,820 And if somebody else had your life, if they had your context, they would 238 00:13:04,820 --> 00:13:08,780 likely have a similar stuck state. 239 00:13:09,352 --> 00:13:10,942 Normalizing is different than evaluating. 240 00:13:12,082 --> 00:13:14,122 Evaluating is rating it. 241 00:13:14,602 --> 00:13:20,182 It's saying good or bad, but normalizing is recognizing that a stuck state 242 00:13:20,662 --> 00:13:22,252 shut down, flight, fight, freeze. 243 00:13:22,912 --> 00:13:25,432 It's biological, it's not good or bad. 244 00:13:25,432 --> 00:13:28,132 It's not positive or negative. 245 00:13:28,132 --> 00:13:29,122 It, it, it just is. 246 00:13:30,562 --> 00:13:31,402 It's biological. 247 00:13:31,402 --> 00:13:36,142 It, it's an autonomic shift based on the context of your life and 248 00:13:36,142 --> 00:13:39,022 maybe something you needed to exist in in order to get your needs met. 249 00:13:39,967 --> 00:13:43,117 And you are, at least in part biological, I don't know what, what you believe as 250 00:13:43,117 --> 00:13:47,197 far as spirituality and whatnot, but we're at least in part biological, right? 251 00:13:47,197 --> 00:13:54,637 So that biological shift from the past comes to the present and is 252 00:13:54,727 --> 00:13:56,197 probably reinforced in the present. 253 00:13:57,277 --> 00:13:58,562 So there's no value to this. 254 00:13:58,687 --> 00:14:00,127 It's not good or bad. 255 00:14:00,127 --> 00:14:03,697 It's not a reflection of your worth, and it's not a never 256 00:14:03,697 --> 00:14:04,927 ending limit to your potential. 257 00:14:04,927 --> 00:14:08,497 It probably limits your potential today, but in the future, we don't know that. 258 00:14:11,167 --> 00:14:15,157 Normalizing sounds like I am temporarily stuck in shutdown 259 00:14:15,217 --> 00:14:17,227 due to the context of my life. 260 00:14:18,007 --> 00:14:18,787 Evaluation. 261 00:14:18,787 --> 00:14:21,787 Sounds like I'm in shutdown because something's wrong with me. 262 00:14:22,567 --> 00:14:23,677 Other people don't feel this way. 263 00:14:23,677 --> 00:14:27,847 Even though their lives are worse than mine, I will never get better. 264 00:14:28,237 --> 00:14:31,297 There's a clear difference in the way that those two things sound, right. 265 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,350 Normalizing sounds like my feelings are normal. 266 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:36,450 My feelings make sense. 267 00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:38,280 My feelings make sense. 268 00:14:38,310 --> 00:14:41,850 In this context, my feelings are not random. 269 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,910 Other people would probably feel similar, and I see other people's feelings 270 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:49,980 and they make sense in their context. 271 00:14:50,670 --> 00:14:52,050 Mine are probably the same. 272 00:14:54,420 --> 00:14:58,635 So let's do another, uh, exercise here and I want you to reflect on these questions. 273 00:14:59,745 --> 00:15:03,705 Could you normalize someone else's emotions? 274 00:15:03,735 --> 00:15:05,055 Could you make sense of them? 275 00:15:05,552 --> 00:15:09,932 You know, a friend of yours was saying how sad they feel and how 276 00:15:09,932 --> 00:15:11,012 much grief they're going through. 277 00:15:11,012 --> 00:15:13,472 You'd probably say, yeah, you just lost someone close to you. 278 00:15:13,472 --> 00:15:14,192 That makes sense. 279 00:15:14,973 --> 00:15:19,023 Could a therapist or other helper normalize your emotions, your 280 00:15:19,023 --> 00:15:20,823 experiences, and I would really hope so. 281 00:15:23,433 --> 00:15:26,313 So can you normalize yourself? 282 00:15:26,313 --> 00:15:28,023 And you might say, I want to, but I don't know how. 283 00:15:28,023 --> 00:15:29,973 And okay, we'll take care of that in the next step. 284 00:15:30,528 --> 00:15:32,778 So how do you feel about normalizing your, your experiences 285 00:15:32,778 --> 00:15:33,798 by the way, before we get there? 286 00:15:34,323 --> 00:15:34,983 How do you feel about that? 287 00:15:34,983 --> 00:15:38,583 What emotions, what thoughts, uh, come up for you? 288 00:15:39,843 --> 00:15:46,653 What pops into your brain or your body as we consider normalizing our experiences? 289 00:15:49,599 --> 00:15:55,059 So let's briefly normalize one experience of your stuck state or 290 00:15:55,089 --> 00:15:56,709 whatever you're currently experiencing. 291 00:15:57,219 --> 00:15:59,589 And if you need to use your sense of touch, I think it's really helpful 292 00:15:59,589 --> 00:16:04,719 to squeeze, to pull, to push, you know, maybe into your palms. 293 00:16:04,719 --> 00:16:07,119 Just use release if you have something coming up within 294 00:16:07,119 --> 00:16:08,229 you that's a bit too much. 295 00:16:08,259 --> 00:16:13,029 Use some sort of, uh, physical means to release it. 296 00:16:13,029 --> 00:16:14,529 And I, I think those are pretty good ways. 297 00:16:15,039 --> 00:16:17,169 Uh, but if you just need to get, move around, go ahead and do that too. 298 00:16:19,449 --> 00:16:20,829 The step one here is to validate. 299 00:16:20,859 --> 00:16:23,079 I do feel, what, what do you feel? 300 00:16:23,139 --> 00:16:25,329 It can be the same thing as before or something brand new. 301 00:16:25,329 --> 00:16:28,389 So let's say that you feel, uh, hopeless. 302 00:16:30,321 --> 00:16:34,221 Lightly ever so lightly reflect on past context, which could 303 00:16:34,221 --> 00:16:35,331 contribute to your stuckness. 304 00:16:35,331 --> 00:16:40,581 So if you feel hopeless, you might say, well, in my past I've been let down a lot, 305 00:16:41,781 --> 00:16:46,911 or I've never lived up to what I wanted myself, or people didn't believe me in 306 00:16:46,911 --> 00:16:50,781 me, or I was constantly rejected as a kid. 307 00:16:51,441 --> 00:16:53,331 So just keep it pretty darn light. 308 00:16:53,361 --> 00:16:55,071 Just one sentence, just like that. 309 00:16:55,071 --> 00:16:55,491 Okay. 310 00:16:56,211 --> 00:17:02,151 Same thing in your current context, lightly reflect on current context that 311 00:17:02,151 --> 00:17:03,591 could contribute to your stuckness. 312 00:17:04,161 --> 00:17:07,131 That could be behavioral adaptations or cognitive adaptations. 313 00:17:07,131 --> 00:17:10,011 That would be things you do to feel better, that don't really help. 314 00:17:10,581 --> 00:17:16,941 So you might say, yeah, I tend to overeat, or I isolate myself a lot in darkness. 315 00:17:18,171 --> 00:17:21,891 Or maybe there's a relationship that you're in, a friendship, uh, a 316 00:17:21,921 --> 00:17:24,171 professional relationship that is just. 317 00:17:24,516 --> 00:17:25,686 Really keeping you stuck. 318 00:17:25,686 --> 00:17:30,006 Someone is, you know, invalidating your experiences or putting lots 319 00:17:30,006 --> 00:17:31,926 of pressure on you to change. 320 00:17:32,616 --> 00:17:36,966 Those could be things that, and reinforce your stuckness, but 321 00:17:36,966 --> 00:17:38,586 again, keep it really, really light. 322 00:17:40,806 --> 00:17:42,636 And step three here is to normalize it. 323 00:17:42,636 --> 00:17:44,436 Does it make sense why you're stuck? 324 00:17:45,546 --> 00:17:50,556 When you take in those contexts, when you take them into account, does it make sense 325 00:17:50,556 --> 00:17:52,836 why you're stuck and why you stay stuck? 326 00:17:54,092 --> 00:17:58,052 Does it make sense why you think and feel the way that you do? 327 00:18:02,229 --> 00:18:06,782 So if I felt hopeless and I was raised in a home where I didn't really 328 00:18:06,782 --> 00:18:11,132 have healthy attachments with my caregivers and didn't really receive 329 00:18:11,132 --> 00:18:15,542 positive encouragement, and now I'm in a relationship where this person's 330 00:18:15,542 --> 00:18:17,192 pressuring me to be someone I'm not. 331 00:18:18,512 --> 00:18:20,492 Would it make sense why I feel hopeless? 332 00:18:20,942 --> 00:18:22,142 Yeah, of course it does. 333 00:18:23,085 --> 00:18:24,740 We will take it a step further here. 334 00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:28,670 We're gonna create a short normalizing statement for your experience. 335 00:18:28,976 --> 00:18:29,876 Just fill in the blank. 336 00:18:30,026 --> 00:18:32,216 I feel blank, which makes sense. 337 00:18:32,216 --> 00:18:38,906 Based on the context of my life, I think blank, which makes 338 00:18:38,906 --> 00:18:40,916 sense based on my life context. 339 00:18:43,304 --> 00:18:46,754 I always feel blank, and I think anyone else would too. 340 00:18:49,364 --> 00:18:54,404 And in the context of my life, my feelings of blank make complete sense. 341 00:18:55,950 --> 00:18:57,645 Polyvagal, ladder climbing is difficult. 342 00:18:57,645 --> 00:18:59,055 Self-regulation is difficult. 343 00:18:59,055 --> 00:18:59,625 It's not easy. 344 00:18:59,655 --> 00:19:00,705 Change is not easy. 345 00:19:01,275 --> 00:19:01,965 Not just for you. 346 00:19:01,965 --> 00:19:02,655 It's not a you issue. 347 00:19:02,655 --> 00:19:03,225 It's everybody. 348 00:19:03,315 --> 00:19:03,885 All of us. 349 00:19:05,025 --> 00:19:05,475 All of us. 350 00:19:05,475 --> 00:19:09,225 By the way, it might be new, so change is difficult for anybody but 351 00:19:10,215 --> 00:19:14,595 this inward, mindfulness, polyvagal, self-regulation stuff, it might be brand 352 00:19:14,595 --> 00:19:20,265 new to you and you've been, however you've been for years, decades maybe. 353 00:19:20,925 --> 00:19:22,005 And here you are trying to change it. 354 00:19:22,005 --> 00:19:22,755 So let's normalize. 355 00:19:22,755 --> 00:19:23,535 Like that's not easy. 356 00:19:24,092 --> 00:19:28,322 change might not come easily, and that is very normal and very okay. 357 00:19:28,382 --> 00:19:30,632 And if when you do change, it probably won't be all at once. 358 00:19:30,632 --> 00:19:34,970 It's gonna be in slow, small steps, your stuckness is normal, 359 00:19:34,970 --> 00:19:37,160 but so are moments of connection. 360 00:19:38,030 --> 00:19:41,420 Even though you might be stuck in a defensive state, you do have 361 00:19:41,420 --> 00:19:44,690 it within you to have at least small moments of connection. 362 00:19:44,690 --> 00:19:48,260 Here you are looking inward, listening, learning, and trying to 363 00:19:48,260 --> 00:19:49,340 get more in touch with yourself. 364 00:19:49,340 --> 00:19:51,680 So moments of connection are possible. 365 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,800 You're doing it right now, so even though you're stuck, 366 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,030 you, there is some hope here. 367 00:19:56,030 --> 00:19:58,460 There is, there are potentials for connection. 368 00:19:59,435 --> 00:20:01,295 Y not just with yourself, but the outside world. 369 00:20:01,295 --> 00:20:04,805 Using your senses, maybe with others in including your pets. 370 00:20:05,231 --> 00:20:05,591 You're here. 371 00:20:05,591 --> 00:20:07,361 You didn't have to be here, right? 372 00:20:07,361 --> 00:20:08,501 You made a choice to be here. 373 00:20:09,131 --> 00:20:12,101 You've made many choices along this pathway. 374 00:20:12,131 --> 00:20:16,616 Maybe you've been to therapy or retreats or tried medications or this or that. 375 00:20:16,691 --> 00:20:20,621 The other thing, so you, you probably made a bunch of choices and here you are. 376 00:20:20,621 --> 00:20:21,911 This is another one of your choices. 377 00:20:24,101 --> 00:20:25,121 You're already on the path. 378 00:20:25,871 --> 00:20:28,541 You're already on that path of change and you are moving forward. 379 00:20:28,541 --> 00:20:30,731 I know you want more, but, but here you are. 380 00:20:30,761 --> 00:20:33,851 All you're doing is taking that next step and hopefully learning 381 00:20:33,851 --> 00:20:36,971 to validate and normalize is a nice, solid next step for you. 382 00:20:38,831 --> 00:20:43,571 So you are less stuck now than you were in the past and in the near 383 00:20:43,571 --> 00:20:45,791 future you're gonna be even less stuck. 384 00:20:46,031 --> 00:20:46,901 Congratulations. 385 00:20:47,497 --> 00:20:48,637 Keep going down the path. 386 00:20:48,667 --> 00:20:49,357 You're not done yet. 387 00:20:49,387 --> 00:20:50,977 No, I don't think anyone's ever quite done. 388 00:20:51,397 --> 00:20:55,477 Hopefully, we're always walking down the path of self-development, right? 389 00:20:56,017 --> 00:20:56,617 And unstuck. 390 00:20:57,907 --> 00:21:00,307 So you haven't gotten to where exactly where you want to be yet, but you're 391 00:21:00,307 --> 00:21:04,267 firmly on the path, and I hope this skill helps you keep walking down that path. 392 00:21:06,684 --> 00:21:09,114 Thanks so much for joining me on Stuck Not Broken. 393 00:21:09,172 --> 00:21:13,342 I hope this episode has helped you to validate and to normalize your stuck 394 00:21:13,342 --> 00:21:16,972 states and how it shows up for you in your daily life, and maybe even 395 00:21:16,972 --> 00:21:18,262 right now in this present moment. 396 00:21:18,862 --> 00:21:23,182 You can use this little validation and normalization practice at any time. 397 00:21:23,722 --> 00:21:25,792 Just come back to this episode and relisten to it. 398 00:21:26,035 --> 00:21:28,675 There's always something to validate or normalize. 399 00:21:28,705 --> 00:21:31,375 Like right now, you're having some sort of experience that you 400 00:21:31,375 --> 00:21:33,415 could validate and normalize. 401 00:21:34,135 --> 00:21:37,525 And as you practice this, especially with your stuck defensive 402 00:21:37,525 --> 00:21:41,905 state, you may notice that other experiences come into your system. 403 00:21:41,905 --> 00:21:46,345 Like as you validate and normalize one experience, something else pops up. 404 00:21:46,915 --> 00:21:48,385 So it never really stops. 405 00:21:49,165 --> 00:21:52,195 Validation and normalization just kind of keep going indefinitely 406 00:21:52,195 --> 00:21:53,035 in the present moment. 407 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,039 So that's your homework from this episode. 408 00:21:55,159 --> 00:21:58,369 Keep practicing validation and normalization. 409 00:21:58,939 --> 00:22:02,600 Listen back to this, not just when you need it, but before you need it. 410 00:22:03,094 --> 00:22:06,454 Practice the skill before you climb further down your polyvagal 411 00:22:06,454 --> 00:22:09,604 ladder and into more dysregulation. 412 00:22:09,604 --> 00:22:15,154 Practice it when you have a positive emotion, like calm, just as much as you 413 00:22:15,154 --> 00:22:18,274 have, um, a negative one, like anxiety. 414 00:22:18,544 --> 00:22:21,304 These aren't really positive or negative, but we can, we tend 415 00:22:21,304 --> 00:22:22,444 to group 'em in that manner. 416 00:22:22,804 --> 00:22:25,744 If you like this lesson, you're going to love what I have 417 00:22:25,744 --> 00:22:27,634 within the Unstucking Academy. 418 00:22:27,934 --> 00:22:34,114 I have courses, a private community, more skills practices, Q&As, lots of 419 00:22:34,114 --> 00:22:39,154 stuff to ensure that you're learning clearly and that you know what your 420 00:22:39,154 --> 00:22:41,618 next step is, and that you're not alone. 421 00:22:41,637 --> 00:22:44,427 And if you're brand new to the Polyvagal Theory, I created the 422 00:22:44,427 --> 00:22:49,707 Foundations Membership just for you for only 10 bucks per month. 423 00:22:49,854 --> 00:22:56,134 Learn more at justinLMFT.com/unstuckingacademy, 424 00:22:56,214 --> 00:23:00,064 justinLMFT.com/unstuckingacademy. 425 00:23:00,202 --> 00:23:01,882 The link is in the description. 426 00:23:02,452 --> 00:23:03,352 Thanks again for joining me. 427 00:23:03,682 --> 00:23:03,802 Bye.