(You can find the German version of this article here.)

 

If you have read my article ‘Understanding and strengthening psychological safety’, you may remember that I started by giving you lots of tips on how to strengthen psychological safety in a team – only to conclude by saying that 

 

All the measures described cannot guarantee that a person will feel safe. How safe we feel has a lot to do with our nervous system and the experiences of (perceived) safety and insecurity stored in it.

 

And so I would now like to take you with me into the fascinating world of the nervous system 😍

 

If you haven't read the first article, it may be helpful to take a look at it. But even if you haven't, you're sure to learn a lot from this second article.

 

To recap: psychological safety means ‘a team climate in which we feel safe to take interpersonal risks’. We don't wear a metaphorical mask, but feel free to be ourselves. According to many studies, psychological safety is the most important factor for high performance in a team. And there are already some well-researched factors for strengthening psychological safety, e.g. small status differences, leadership behaviour, good relationships between colleagues, a culture that is tolerant of mistakes... 

 

This is where I would like to take up the topic and explain, based on how our nervous system works, why interventions for more psychological safety can work differently for different people. I will then discuss what we can learn from this for effective collaboration in teams and organisations. 

 

Safety from the perspective of the autonomous nervous system

Safety from a nervous system perspective differs from ‘psychological safety’ as I have discussed it so far: psychological safety is an organisational psychological construct developed by Prof. Amy Edmondson. It is measured quantitatively at the team level – by individually surveying all team members with questions developed by Edmondson. This then forms a team-related measurement value. Psychological safety is a useful construct because studies have reliably shown that the measured values are related to other relevant organisational psychological values (e.g. performance, learning, etc.).

 

The perceived safety of the autonomous nervous system (ANS) is an individual, physical and mostly unconscious sensation. While it is obviously not the same as psychological safety, it is related to it. 

 

(For the following explanations, I mainly refer to the book ‘Anchored - how to befriend your nervous system with polyvagal theory’ by Deb Dana and to the Somatic Experiencing approach)

 

The function of the ANS is to enable us to move safely through our daily lives. The ANS regulates our internal organs and bodily processes, including heartbeat, breathing rhythm, blood pressure, digestion and metabolism. Depending on whether the ANS thinks we are safe or not, it will control bodily processes differently.

 

Three nervous system states

 

There are three nervous system states:

 

Regulated/safe/connected

In this state, we are relaxed. We are connected and communicate with others. We are happy as part of a group or feel content alone. The usual irritations of the day (e.g. traffic jams, spilled coffee) feel easily manageable. Instead of getting stressed or annoyed, we go with the flow of life. 

 

Fight or flight mode

When something feels too much for us, when we feel overwhelmed, when too much is happening at once or life feels like a series of never-ending challenges, our nervous system goes into fight or flight mode. When our to-do list never seems to get any smaller, when there never seems to be enough money to make a living, or when our partner always seems distracted, we can lose the feeling of security in the present moment. Our nervous system then thinks that we are in danger and reacts with attack or flight. 

 

Freeze/Breakdown state

When the overwhelming challenges seem to have no end, when we see no way out and no way to deal with them, our nervous system goes into breakdown, into freezing, into disconnection. In this state, nothing has any meaning anymore, we withdraw completely inwardly and no longer feel much. We can observe in animals that they freeze, play dead, when there is no longer any chance to fight or flee. The nervous system then sees playing dead as the only chance to survive. In our modern world, it is in most cases perceived and not actual threatening situations in which the nervous system shuts down. 

 

A physiological state related to freezing is  Fawning. This involves appeasing a potential aggressor/pretending that everything is ok in order to avoid danger. Fawning is a widespread behaviour in actually harmless social situations, because historically we depended on the community for our survival for a long time. 

 

In states of danger (fight/flight & freeze/fawn), everything focuses on defending against potential danger. As a result, the body loses its sense of potential safety and is not interested in social connection. Our state of mind in that moment fundamentally influences how we perceive the world  – and with it our colleagues, the current work project and the entire work environment. When we feel safe, we see many more possibilities, have access to our intuition and more trust in our counterpart. (Working) life feels manageable. 

 

Neuroception - how our nervous system perceives safety

The nervous system uses three pathways to receive safety and danger signals: internal, external, and interpersonal. The whole thing is called neuroception. Internal neuroception concerns the inside of the body: heartbeat, breathing rhythm, muscle activity, and internal organs. External neuroception concerns everything from the immediate environment to the global community. And interpersonal neuroception concerns communication with other people – one-on-one or in a group. 

 

The result of neuroception is one of the states described above, which either brings us into contact with people or prepares us to ward off danger by fighting, fleeing, freezing or fawning. Neuroception ensures our survival. In the best case, it decides appropriately which state is needed at the moment. We can therefore be very grateful to it. 😊

 

However, this is where current stressors and past experiences come into play: if there are already many stressors in our lives, a seemingly banal stress situation can be the straw that tips the camel's back and puts us into danger mode.

 

In addition, the nervous system stores overwhelming past experiences (trauma), especially from childhood and adolescence. When actually safe situations in the present remind the nervous system of these past experiences, it can mistakenly react with a danger alarm. Then a fight, flight, freeze or fawn reaction arises, although it is not necessary. From the outside, this is sometimes interpreted as ‘overreacting’. 

 

It is completely normal for our neuroception to get out of regulation from time to time throughout the day. The important thing is to find our way back. If we can't get out of the dysregulation, it can be challenging for us and those around us. 

 

 

Perceiving signals of safety

We cannot directly change our neuroception. However, we can perceive it and support it by sending it safety signals. This is not only important for acute moments of dysregulation. The more our nervous system can perceive safety in our daily lives, the more likely it is to have enough capacity to react in a regulated and appropriate way in challenging situations.  

 

There are an infinite number of possible safety signals. In the following, I would like to give you a few examples, both in contact with others (co-regulation) and alone (self-regulation).

 

Let's start with co-regulation: 

 

As social beings, reliable, secure social connections are important for us. They help us feel safe. In particular, people who are themselves in a regulated nervous system state (‘safe and social’) are helpful for our nervous system. (Domestic) animals can also be helpful co-regulators for some people. Helpful co-regulation looks different for each individual. You can tell whether someone is a co-regulator or co-dysregulator for you by feeling into your body: Are you relaxed or rather tense or frozen/numb when you are in contact with the person?

 

As children, we depend on co-regulation by adults. Through sufficient social connections and reliable opportunities for reciprocity and co-regulation, our body builds up the ability to self-regulate (see below). This was not the case for everyone in childhood, but we can still strengthen our ability to self-regulate in adulthood. 

 

So now we move on to self-regulation: 

 

There are endless possibilities here. Not every method is suitable for everyone. I will give you a few examples:

• For many people, relaxation exercises/courses such as autogenic training, restorative yoga, qi gong or MBSR can be helpful in regulating the nervous system. However, this is only the case if you feel safe and comfortable in the context in which they take place (e.g. in a classroom or at home in front of the PC).

 

• In principle, slowness signals to the nervous system that everything is ok. Whether it's walking slowly or washing up slowly. This brings you into the here and now. The same applies to slowly orienting yourself in a room: looking at everything in 360 degrees.

 

• If you are in the midst of an acute stress reaction, you can focus on the things in the room that you like and that create a pleasant feeling. Really feel it: where do I feel the pleasant feeling in the body?

 

• Slow breathing exercises are also helpful, especially lengthening the exhalation.

 

• Nature is a co-regulator, too. If you don't have access to it directly, then watching 15minutes of nature videos can help.  

 

• Nutrition is also very important. From a nervous system perspective, we can distinguish between balancing, activating and suppressing foods. Balancing foods such as vegetables, legumes and whole grains help us to regulate ourselves. Activating (e.g. sugar, coffee) and suppressing foods (e.g. alcohol, very fatty foods) can get in the way of a balanced nervous system in various ways ( If you want to learn more about this topic, I recommend this Webinar from Somatic Experiencing International)

 

What does this knowledge mean for psychological safety in teams?

Group-based interventions for psychological safety in the team continue to make sense (see my article ‘Understanding and strengthening psychological safety’ for details). These can provide relevant safety signals for many nervous systems. Not every intervention for every nervous system in the same way, but if you offer a bouquet of measures, the probability increases that there is something for as many nervous systems as possible.

 

At the same time, it is important not to expect that everyone will feel safer as a result. It is important to respect if not everyone reacts happily to the new communication methods, the check-in before the meeting, the conflict resolution workshop or, or, or.... For some people, certain changes can be triggers and thus stressors. A massively negative reaction can therefore be an autonomous reaction of the nervous system that wants to protect itself. It has overcoupled the actually harmless situation with danger. (And apart from that, there are of course simply different preferences. This must also be respected.) 

 

I personally think it's important not to force anyone to ‘work on themselves’. And anyway, we all have our individual triggers and will probably never be completely free of the fact that actually safe situations activate our danger mode. That we fall into fight, flight, freeze or fawn. And depending on what else is going on in our lives, a small disagreement with a colleague, for example, is not worth mentioning or can completely overwhelm us.

 

Of course, it is important to work well together as a team. In my view, an individual approach to individual needs has the best chance of finding a way of working together that feels good for everyone. And when interpersonal situations have really got out of hand, it is worth designing the clarification in such a way that the nervous systems involved can feel as safe as possible at the time of the conversation. 

 

If someone wants to support their nervous system because they often find themselves in danger mode, which puts a strain on them and their teamwork, I think it's very worthwhile for the organisation to support them. I recommend coaching with coaches who are trained in Somatic Experiencing or otherwise competent in the nervous system (e.g. Malwina Ulrych ). I am also a big fan of the offerings from Holistic Life Navigation, especially the course ‘Finding Safety in Yourself’. And of course

there is a lot you can do for your nervous system independently aside from coaching and programmes. I have already mentioned a few options above. The book ‘ ‘Anchored – how to befriend your nervous system with polyvagal theory’ by Deb Dana offers many more exercises and in-depth options. 

 

For leaders in particular, I recommend taking a look at how things are going with your own regulation, your own ability to perceive safety. Because a person with a chronically dysregulated nervous system can also have a dysregulating effect on other nervous systems – especially if that person has a lot of power, like a leader. When a leader does something for themselves, they are doing something for the whole team.

 

I wish you joy exploring your nervous system! 😊 

 

And if you would like to dig deeper into this topic, check out this video interview: psychological safety with Lyn von der Laden (Youtube channel of Manuel Küblböck/New Work by Design)

 

(Photo from Diego PH on Unsplash)