Digest shame to get out of survival mode (level up)

Link to register for Embodied Female Pleasure: (copy and past if it doesn't work) https://link.veronicamandujano.com/1-... Join my email list: https://link.veronicamandujano.com/li... Follow on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pleasure_as_p... **PS. I said t "HPA" axis but my editing software that cuts pauses cut it to "HP" Citations: Claim: Physical warmth and presence (20-second contact) measurably lowers cardiovascular stress reactivity Grewen, K.M., Anderson, B.J., Girdler, S.S., & Light, K.C. (2003). Warm partner contact is related to lower cardiovascular reactivity. Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 123–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/0896428030959... University of North Carolina. Study of 183 adults (cohabitating couples): warm contact group underwent 10 minutes of handholding while viewing a romantic video, followed by a 20-second hug with their partner. Compared to the no-contact group, the contact group showed significantly lower systolic BP, diastolic BP, and heart rate increases in response to a public speaking stress task. Effects were comparable for men and women, and greater for African Americans than Caucasians. Supports the claim that brief, warm physical contact has a measurable downstream effect on stress response. Claim: Oxytocin is released by non-social touch and warmth — the mechanism belongs to you, no partner required Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (1998). [see full citation above] The same Karolinska paper. Specifically: "oxytocin may be released by nonnoxious stimuli such as touch, warm temperature etc. in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid" — establishing that the oxytocin release mechanism is not dependent on a partner or a relational event. Also: "the release of oxytocin can become conditioned to emotional states and mental images" — meaning the practice can be initiated through intention and imagery, not only physical stimulus. Claim: Shame activates the threat circuit — HPA axis, cortisol elevation, suppression of the social engagement (vagal) state Porges, S.W. (2001). [see full citation above] The polyvagal framework establishes that any perceived threat — including social threat, which shame maps onto — activates either the sympathetic (fight/flight) or the dorsal vagal (freeze/immobilization) state, both of which suppress the myelinated vagus. Since oxytocin and the social engagement state are co-dependent, chronic shame physiologically forecloses access to the regulatory baseline. This is not stated in those exact terms in the paper, it is Véronica's application of Porges' framework to the experience of embodied shame.