Polyvagal Theory, developed by Stephen Porges, provides a neuroscience framework that explains many aspects of mental health stigma in terms of the nervous system's safety-detection mechanisms.
The Three States of Polyvagal Theory and Mental Health Stigma
Ventral vagal (safe and social): Optimal state for connection, learning, and mental health stigma management
Sympathetic mobilization (fight or flight): Anxiety-type mental health stigma responses
Dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze/collapse): Depression and dissociation-type mental health stigma
Neuroception and Mental Health Stigma
Neuroception — the body's unconscious safety-detection — can be dysregulated in mental health stigma, causing false alarms (sensing danger when safe) that drive mental health stigma responses.
Polyvagal-Informed Mental Health Stigma Treatment
Therapy that acknowledges the body's state — helping clients move into ventral vagal 'safe and social' — transforms mental health stigma management.
Safe relationships, co-regulation, and body-based practices are particularly emphasized.