Glimmer: How to Trigger Feelings of Joy and Safety

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCommon GlimmersUnderstanding Triggers and GlimmersHow Glimmers WorkHow to Find More GlimmersHow to Identify Your Glimmers

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Common Glimmers

Understanding Triggers and Glimmers

How Glimmers Work

How to Find More Glimmers

How to Identify Your Glimmers

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A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger—it is some kind of cue, either internal or external that brings one back to a sense of joy or safety. This can be anything from catching a view of the skyline of your favorite city to seeing a picture of your pet.

In our overstimulated worlds, glimmers can be the answer to regulating our overwhelmednervous systems.

This process is called neuroception, and thevagus nerve, which regulates organ functions, is responsible for it.

Polyvagal Theory: How Our Vagus Nerve Controls Responses to our Environment

Some Common Glimmers

If you’re still having trouble identifying what your own glimmers are, here are some common ones:

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Let’s take a look at what causes a trigger and what leads to a glimmmer.

When You’re Triggered

When the brain is triggered, it associates past traumatic events as if they’re happening right now, leading to the brain and body being on high alert. Symptoms like rapid heartbeat might occur within the body as theflight-or-fight responseoccurs.

When you’re in that state, your sympathetic nervous system, which regulates the body’s response to a stressful situation, is activated, increasing the heart rate, and blood pressure, and pumping extraadrenalineto you to prepare you for danger. If this system is activated too often, or for too long, it can lead to health problems like chronic high blood pressure and insomnia.

In the Polyvagal theory, the analogy of a “ladder” is used. At the bottom of the ladder is the dorsal vagal state, also known as the “freeze state.” This is when immobilization and fear behaviors happen and the heart rate and blood pressure may fall.

When You Feel a Glimmer

The goal is to get to the “top” of the ladder—the ventral vagal state, which is connected with social engagement and safety. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system (also known as rest-and-digest) and puts the body in homeostasis. More time in the parasympathetic nervous system-activated state reduces your risk of disease.

While much of the activity on the Polyvagal ladder is involuntary, itispossible to regulate your place on the ladder.

For example, something likebreathing deeplycan move you from fight or flight into the ventral vagal state and begin to down-regulate you. However, if you are in the dorsal (frozen) state, you need to first be moved into fight-or-flight before moving into the ventral vagal state.

What Is the Fight-or-Flight Response?

You can probably identifytriggersin your life relatively quickly, but glimmers might be harder for you to access. It can be helpful to practice mindfulness or some kind of grounding activity before you attempt to discover your glimmers.

Discovering Your GlimmersThink of a moment you had—no matter how fleeting it might have been—where you felt safe and connected, whether with yourself or with others. Glimmers will feel a little different in everyone’s bodies, but they’re generally those warm-and-fuzzy feelings where you feel cozy and safe.

Discovering Your Glimmers

Think of a moment you had—no matter how fleeting it might have been—where you felt safe and connected, whether with yourself or with others. Glimmers will feel a little different in everyone’s bodies, but they’re generally those warm-and-fuzzy feelings where you feel cozy and safe.

Just as triggers can be both internal and external—from a thought of a traumatic situation that spontaneously comes up to a song that triggers intense feelings associated with a situation—so can glimmers. In fact, one person’s trigger might be another person’s glimmer.

It can be helpful to keep track of your glimmers, just as you might keep track of triggers or other negative thoughts. You can do this in ajournalor in a notes app on your phone. If you need help beginning to identify them, try these exercises below:

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5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Porges SW.Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory.Psychophysiology. 1995;32(4):301-318. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb01213.xDana D. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. First edition. W.W. Norton & Company; 2018.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Olshansky B, Sabbah HN, Hauptman PJ, Colucci WS.Parasympathetic nervous system and heart failure.Circulation. 2008;118(8):863-871. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.760405Counseling Today.Polyvagal theory in practice.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Porges SW.Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory.Psychophysiology. 1995;32(4):301-318. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb01213.xDana D. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. First edition. W.W. Norton & Company; 2018.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Olshansky B, Sabbah HN, Hauptman PJ, Colucci WS.Parasympathetic nervous system and heart failure.Circulation. 2008;118(8):863-871. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.760405Counseling Today.Polyvagal theory in practice.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Porges SW.Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory.Psychophysiology. 1995;32(4):301-318. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb01213.xDana D. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. First edition. W.W. Norton & Company; 2018.Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21Olshansky B, Sabbah HN, Hauptman PJ, Colucci WS.Parasympathetic nervous system and heart failure.Circulation. 2008;118(8):863-871. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.760405Counseling Today.Polyvagal theory in practice.

Porges SW.Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory.Psychophysiology. 1995;32(4):301-318. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb01213.x

Dana D. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. First edition. W.W. Norton & Company; 2018.

Mariotti A.The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication.Future Sci OA. 2015;1(3):FSO23. doi:10.4155/fso.15.21

Olshansky B, Sabbah HN, Hauptman PJ, Colucci WS.Parasympathetic nervous system and heart failure.Circulation. 2008;118(8):863-871. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.760405

Counseling Today.Polyvagal theory in practice.

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