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Tracking Threat Arousal Cycle and States in the Elements of the Felt-Experience
Trauma B– Somatic Approaches to Trauma2016 Summer
Possible Threat
Arrest/Still Pause
Mobilize Defensive Response
Freeze ResponseStep 1 Brace
Freeze Response
Step 2 Collapse Freeze Response Step 3 Rebound
Mobilize Defensive Strategy
Completion Discharge
and Return to Social
Engagement
THREAT ARROUSAL CYCLE
Orient to Assess
for DangerThreat
Identified
Threat Arousal Cycle
If the completion of a part of the threat arousal cycle is thwarted symptoms related to that stage will develop.
Completion happens when the sequence of that phase is allowed to move through to the natural fulfilment of the cyclehttp://www.pods-online.org.uk/index.php/information/articles/article-categories/crisis-care-and-grounding/235-managing-flashbacks
Over InhibitionNot Enough Energy To Reach Threshold
Failure to Inhibit Going Past Threshold
Failure to Complete/Discharge
3 Main Types of Dysregulation
Threat Detection Phase
The body stops and becomes arrested. This happens before the orienting response. There is a pause and a
scan of the environment for danger.
Orienting Response
In the orienting phase one scans the environment for danger. There is an engagement of the neck muscles and eye muscles.
There is a body arousal and a feeling that there might be a threat.
Threat Detected
At this stage a threat is detected. There is a danger perception. This system is a fuzzy fast system that gets to the brain before one can consciously think. It is error prone and has lots of false positives because the risk of
not identifying a danger is too great.
Defensive Orienting Response/Mobilize Defensive Response
Defensive response chosen and mobilization of the response is started. The main defensive responses at this stage are: Fight (aggression as protection), Flight (avoiding danger), Tend and Befriend (Social
Caretaking to Sooth Aggressor).
Completion – Success of Defensive Strategy
When the defensive response is able to protect the individual the system moves towards discharge of energy
and completion. There is often a feeling of success and pronking (the experience of healthy
pride in self-protection).
Freeze State – Tonic Immobility
If a threat is unavoidable and one can not in the moment fight it off the defensive protective response of Freeze is
engaged. This response has three parts. The first is a bracing or tonic immobility. The second is a collapse
or cataplexia. The third is rebound. In the last stage people tend to come out of a freeze state in
the same defensive strategy they entered.
Mobilization of Defensive Response
After the threat is gone the animal mobilizes the defensive strategy initially attempted. This mobilization discharges the energy of protection. Once the response has completed the body returns to social engagement
and rest.
Elements of SIBAM-R
The Elements of SIBAM-R make up the “Felt-Experience.” The mind’s attentional capacity regularly cycles through
awareness of parts of consciousness.
As attention cycles through these parts of consciousness (Mental Saccade) they add together through working memory and sensory integration to develop a sense of self-in-context.
Regulation has four key parts… Attention, Attentional Shift, Integration of Sensorium and Affect State
Coupling Dynamics
Memory is laid down in a sequence of felt-sensory states. Trauma is in essence too much too fast for the brain to lay down appropriate memories.
In heightened states of arousal parts of consciousness become ‘coupled’ or connected. Paired tightly together. This in essence warps the relationship and bends the elements of the sensory experience creating a tight bond between elements of SIBAM-R.
Coupling Dynamics
Over-Coupling: When two ore more elements of SIBAM are paired
together when a traumatic memory is encoded. This process is more
associated with fight flight states being paired with elements of SIBAM-
R.
Sensation
Tingling in Stomach
AffectHopelessnes
s
Behavior
Using a Drug
Coupling Dynamics
Under-Coupling: If the information processing comes in far to fast for processing and the body
initiates the freeze state often elements of SIBAM-R become paired with one another and then
fragmented from the larger sequence of the trauma memory.
This leads to floating disconnected patterns that have no sequence or connectivity.
Often this is disorienting and has a feeling of being shattered.
Boundary and Trauma
Trauma is in essence a boundary rupture. Re-establishing the ability to say yes and no is the
hallmark of boundaries Defensive orienting responses allow for healthy
boundaries Felt-Experience of Safety - Feeling the Container of
Self Muscles can be overly tight as a way to contain the
uncontainable affect Micro-Boundaries are a tool to support re-
establishment of protective responses
