← Dr. Stephen Porges

What podcasts say about Dr. Stephen Porges

Every statement, with the speaker, the exact quote and the moment it was said.

What Dr. Stephen Porges has said on podcasts

27 statements · 15 positive · 6 negative · 1 mixed · 5 neutral

  1. Physiological state affects perception, social interaction, and receptivity.

    “our underlying physiological state affects how we perceive the world, how we interact with others, and how receptacle we are to others engaging us”

    Listen at 0:21

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  2. Ignoring bodily feelings reduces neurophysiological feedback-loop function.

    “as we numb our body out or don't listen to it, we're literally turning off neurophysiological feedback loops”

    Listen at 3:39

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  3. Mammalian safety signals can affect another animal’s physiology.

    “those seem to affect their physiology”

    Listen at 11:44

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  4. Mammalian social engagement can repurpose fight-or-flight activation as play.

    “the mammal had this remarkable system that enabled it or us to control our fight flight and actually co op it as play”

    Listen at 16:42

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  5. on Melodic maternal voicePositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Melodic maternal voices rapidly reduce infants’ heart rates.

    “if the mother's voices were more melodic, the baby's heart rates dropped almost immediately”

    Listen at 22:14

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  6. on Safety signalsNeutralJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Removing threat signals alone does not create safety; safety requires positive signals.

    “Safety requires signals, just like threat”

    Listen at 23:57

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  7. Trauma can cause pleasant social cues to trigger defensive withdrawal.

    “if those feelings of feeling good are associated with being abused, what happens? So you get the feeling and then the. The brain remembers, says, been there. This is what happened to me. I'm out of the room.”

    Listen at 27:00

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  8. Post-illness nervous-system flexibility can be gradually rehabilitated through safety signaling.

    “there's pathways of rehabilitation. There are ways in which you can signal the system to slowly gain confidence in itself”

    Listen at 29:57

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  9. A rhythmic sound intervention was as effective as vagal stimulation in a Long Covid study.

    “the sounds had the same effectiveness as the vagal nerve stimulator”

    Listen at 37:27

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  10. on Long Covid interventionPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Long Covid symptom indicators improved substantially after the intervention.

    “all the indicators improved in a very, let's say, powerful way”

    Listen at 38:00

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  11. Autonomic dysregulation keeps the body in chronic defensive activation.

    “Your body's in a chronic state of defense”

    Listen at 40:28

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  12. on Safe and Sound ProtocolNeutralJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    The Safe and Sound Protocol mimics acoustic features of a mother’s voice.

    “what it does is basically mimic the acoustic features of a mother's voice”

    Listen at 45:20

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  13. Human and domestic-animal social vocalizations overlap, enabling calming through speech.

    “dogs, cats, and horses overlap with our band of social communication. So you can calm a dog or a horse or a cat by talking to them.”

    Listen at 47:28

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  14. on Vagus nerve stimulationNegativeJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Repeatedly using vagal stimulation while remaining unsafe can reduce its feedback effects.

    “the nervous system is smart. If you stimulate the system to be calm and accessible and you abuse it, the nervous system will cut off that feedback”

    Listen at 51:18

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  15. Alternating physiological challenge and recovery can increase nervous-system flexibility.

    “challenge it and let it calm down. Challenge it again.”

    Listen at 51:49

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  16. on anxietyNegativeJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Anxiety reflects a defensive physiological state.

    “Anxiety is the body being in a defensive state. Simple as that.”

    Listen at 1:04:17

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  17. on Vagus nerveNeutralJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Approximately 80% of vagal fibers transmit sensory information toward the brain.

    “80% of the fibers of the vagus are sending sensory information to the brain. 80%.”

    Listen at 1:14:04

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  18. on L-carnitinePositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    L-carnitine may signal mitochondria and improve energy after treatment-related depletion.

    “The answer was there are supplements that kind of signal the mitochondria to come out and play again. And the one I took was called L. Carnitine.”

    Listen at 1:18:14

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  19. on LecithinPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Lecithin supplies phosphatidylcholine, a precursor involved in acetylcholine transmission.

    “lecithin, which is a, has a phosphatidylcholine, a precursor for acetylcholine. Because acetylcholine is the used in the vagal nerve transmission and a lot of other neurotransmission.”

    Listen at 1:19:26

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  20. on Ventral vagal systemPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Ventral-vagal regulation can repurpose fight-or-flight into play and immobilization into intimacy.

    “when you have the ventral vagus, it's kind of like a choreographer. It creates, it enables us to repurpose, fight flight into play, repurpose immobilization into intimacy and restoration.”

    Listen at 1:20:36

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  21. on Safe and Sound ProtocolNegativeJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    The Safe and Sound Protocol can trigger defensiveness in some trauma survivors.

    “the safe and sound could be a trigger for people, meaning it could create defensiveness”

    Listen at 1:22:21

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  22. on Fish oilPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Porges reports that high-dose fish oil reduced his tinnitus, possibly through anti-inflammatory effects.

    “I started to take high doses of fish oil and the tinnitus disappeared. Fish oil has a anti inflammatory.”

    Listen at 1:26:10

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  23. Gut–nervous-system signaling is bidirectional.

    “when we talk about a system, it's bidirectional, it's really sending up signal”

    Listen at 1:29:08

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  24. Sex differences in nervous-system operation probably exist alongside shared basic mechanisms.

    “The answer is probably. I mean, I think we can say that there are some basic mechanics that are in a way asexual.”

    Listen at 1:30:01

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  25. on Stellate ganglion blocksPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Stellate ganglion blocks may reduce sympathetic activation, allowing parasympathetic calming.

    “if you downregulate them, the parasympathetic calming has an opportunity to express itself”

    Listen at 1:41:45

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  26. on Stellate ganglion blocksPositiveJul 25, 2026· Modern Wisdom

    Stellate ganglion blocks appear most useful for trauma or PTSD involving fight-or-flight activation.

    “the utility of it has been really in terms of the world of trauma or ptsd”

    Listen at 1:42:08

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128
  27. A well-regulated nervous system can both connect socially and detect threats.

    “our nervous system, the healthy nervous system that has the capacity to connect and to basically love and share and trust, is usually the nervous system that can detect threat as well”

    Listen at 1:50:55

    Open the episode · Polyvagal Theory: Why You Feel So Anxious All The Time - Dr Stephen Porges - #1128

Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.

Dr. Stephen Porges: what podcasts say · PodLume