Your Nervous System State
Map the autonomic state your body defaults to — safe, mobilized, or shut down
About this assessment
A 30-item educational self-reflection tool inspired by Dr. Stephen Porges's Polyvagal Theory, which describes the autonomic nervous system as moving through three hierarchically organized states: the ventral vagal state (safety, social engagement, calm connection), the sympathetic state (mobilized fight-or-flight activation), and the dorsal vagal state (immobilized shutdown, collapse, and numbness). Every item is written as a concrete, body-level moment rather than an abstract trait, so the test reads your lived physiology instead of your self-image. Each of the three states is measured by ten original items — including reverse-keyed items in every subscale to catch automatic agreeing — and the instrument yields both an overall regulation profile and a breakdown of which state currently runs you. Items are written specifically for this assessment and reproduce no copyrighted instrument. This is a framework for understanding patterns, not a medical or clinical diagnosis.
Your result breaks down across 3 measured dimensions
This assessment includes built-in validity checks. Your result includes a confidence rating based on response consistency.