THE NERVOUS SYSTEM COHERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

Are You Operating from Stress or Sovereignty?

What This Reveals:

Your autonomic nervous system has three states:

1. Ventral Vagal (Safety) - Rest, connection, healing, presence

2. Sympathetic (Mobilization) - Stress, urgency, fight/flight

3. Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown) - Freeze, numbness, collapse

Most men over 50 are stuck in chronic sympathetic activation—always "on," never truly resting. Some have collapsed into dorsal shutdown—disconnected, heavy, numb.

This 3-minute questionnaire reveals your baseline nervous system state.

Why this matters: Your nervous system state determines everything—your stress levels, sleep quality, emotional regulation, pain perception, immune function, and even your relationships.

You can't think your way out of a dysregulated nervous system. But you can train it.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Instructions:

For each statement, rate how true it is for you over the past month:

• 0 = Never / Not at all true

• 1 = Rarely / Sometimes true

• 2 = Often true

• 3 = Always / Very true

Answer quickly and honestly. Your nervous system can't lie.

SECTION 1: SAFETY STATE (Ventral Vagal)

These indicate a healthy, regulated nervous system:

1. "I feel safe and relaxed in my body most of the time"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

2. "I can easily connect with others and feel present in conversations"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

3. "My breathing is naturally deep and relaxed throughout the day"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

4. "I recover quickly from stressful events and return to calm"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

5. "I sleep deeply and wake feeling rested"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

SAFETY STATE SUBTOTAL: _____ / 15

SECTION 2: STRESS STATE (Sympathetic)

These indicate chronic stress activation:

6. "I feel restless, edgy, or like I can't fully relax even when I want to"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

7. "My mind races with thoughts and worries, especially at night"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

8. "I feel tension in my jaw, shoulders, or chest throughout the day"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

9. "I startle easily or feel hyper-alert to my environment"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

10. "I have difficulty sitting still or need to constantly be doing something"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

STRESS STATE SUBTOTAL: _____ / 15

SECTION 3: SHUTDOWN STATE (Dorsal Vagal)

These indicate nervous system collapse/freeze:

11. "I often feel numb, disconnected, or like I'm going through the motions"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

12. "I have low energy and motivation, even for things I used to enjoy"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

13. "I feel heavy, sluggish, or like moving requires significant effort"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

14. "I withdraw from social situations and prefer to be alone"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

15. "I feel hopeless or like nothing will really change"0 — 1 — 2 — 3

SHUTDOWN STATE SUBTOTAL: _____ / 15

CALCULATE YOUR RESULTS

Step 1: Identify Your Dominant State

Which subtotal is highest?

• Safety (Ventral Vagal): _____ / 15

• Stress (Sympathetic): _____ / 15

• Shutdown (Dorsal Vagal): _____ / 15

Your dominant state: _______________

Step 2: Assess Your Nervous System Flexibility

Compare your three subtotals:

HIGH FLEXIBILITY:All three scores within 3-5 points of each other→ You can move between states appropriately based on context

MODERATE FLEXIBILITY:One score 6-9 points higher than the others→ You have a default state but can shift when needed

LOW FLEXIBILITY (STUCK):One score 10+ points higher than the others→ You're locked in this state regardless of circumstances

Your flexibility level: _______________

YOUR RESULTS

If SAFETY is your highest score (12-15):

✅ VENTRAL VAGAL DOMINANCE - The Regulated Warrior

What This Means:

Your nervous system operates primarily from safety and social engagement. You can rest, connect, and heal. You recover from stress quickly and return to baseline.

This is rare—especially for men over 50.

You've either:

• Done significant nervous system work (breathwork, therapy, somatic practices)

• Have excellent natural regulation (genetics + lifestyle)

• Maintain practices that support ventral vagal tone (meditation, movement, nature, connection)

Your Strengths:

• ✅ Emotional regulation

• ✅ Sleep quality

• ✅ Stress resilience

• ✅ Connection with others

• ✅ Presence and awareness

Your Next Level:

Even in this state, refinement is possible:

• Maintain your practices—what got you here must continue

• Explore advanced breathwork protocols

• Deepen interoceptive awareness

• Train flexibility between states (not just staying in safety)

• Consider teaching/mentoring others

Recommended: Join the Warrior Tier to maintain and deepen your practice. Explore Magician Tier for advanced nervous system training.

If STRESS is your highest score (10-15):

⚠️ SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE - The Mobilized Achiever

What This Means:

You live in chronic low-grade fight/flight. Always "on." Always ready. Never fully resting.

This is the most common pattern for successful men over 50.

You've achieved external success through relentless drive. Your nervous system has adapted to sustained mobilization. Stress became your operating system.

The Cost:

• Poor sleep (mind racing at night)

• Chronic tension (jaw, shoulders, chest)

• Shallow breathing (chest breathing dominates)

• Difficulty relaxing (even on vacation)

• Hyper-vigilance (always scanning for problems)

• Emotional reactivity (quick to anger or frustration)

• Decreased immunity

• Increased inflammation

• Reduced HRV (heart rate variability)

Why This Happened:

Decades of:

• High-pressure work environments

• "Always on" culture

• Ignoring rest signals

• Caffeine/stimulants

• Screen time before bed

• Shallow breathing patterns

• Lack of parasympathetic activation practices

Your nervous system learned: Safety = danger. Rest = weakness. Mobilization = survival.

What You Need:

Ventral vagal activation training. Not willpower. Not "just relax." Actual nervous system retraining through:

1. Breath protocols - Extended exhale breathing (vagal stimulation)

2. Somatic practices - "The Armor We Carry" protocol

3. Movement with awareness - Not high-intensity; conscious, grounded movement

4. Nervous system cues - Teaching your body what safety feels like

5. Sleep hygiene - Creating conditions for parasympathetic dominance

The Truth:

You can't achieve your way out of sympathetic dominance. You have to regulate your way out.

Recommended Actions:

1. Download "The Armor We Carry" - Begin somatic breathwork immediately

2. Start The Infinite Warrior Master Tier - Structured nervous system training

3. Join Warrior Tier - Group coherence and weekly coaching

4. Consider HRV tracking - Data-driven nervous system feedback

Timeline: 8-12 weeks of consistent practice creates measurable shifts in autonomic balance.

If SHUTDOWN is your highest score (10-15):

🛑 DORSAL VAGAL DOMINANCE - The Collapsed Warrior

What This Means:

Your nervous system has moved beyond stress into shutdown. This is freeze, collapse, dissociation. The body's last-resort survival strategy when fight/flight no longer works.

This is serious—but reversible.

The Pattern:

• You pushed for decades (sympathetic dominance)

• Eventually, the system couldn't sustain it

• Rather than rest, you collapsed

• Now: numbness, disconnection, heaviness, hopelessness

Common Experiences:

• Waking up tired (no matter how much you sleep)

• Emotional flatness (not sad, just... nothing)

• Heavy body (movement feels like wading through mud)

• Social withdrawal (people feel exhausting)

• Motivation loss (even for things you used to love)

• Sense of inevitability ("This is just how it is now")

Why This Happened:

Dorsal vagal shutdown occurs when:

• Chronic stress goes unaddressed for too long

• You experience significant loss (death, divorce, career collapse)

• Trauma (recent or decades-old) remains unprocessed

• Burnout reaches critical levels

• The nervous system gives up on mobilization and freezes

This is NOT depression (though they often co-occur). This is a nervous system state that requires somatic intervention, not just mental/pharmaceutical approaches.

What You Need:

Gentle reactivation. Not motivation. Not "just push through." Actual nervous system thawing through:

1. Professional support - This level requires guidance (therapy + somatic work)

2. Titrated movement - Small, gentle, achievable movements to reawaken the system

3. Breath activation - Short practices, building capacity slowly

4. Social nervous system engagement - Safe connection with others (co-regulation)

5. Compassion - This is not weakness. This is biology.

Critical:

If you scored high in shutdown AND have thoughts of self-harm, please reach out to a mental health professional immediately. Dorsal shutdown can be dangerous.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 (US)

Recommended Actions:

1. Schedule a 1-on-1 consultation - You need personalized protocol design

2. Work with a trauma-informed therapist - Somatic Experiencing or EMDR practitioners

3. Start with "The Armor We Carry" - Gentle somatic breathwork

4. Join Warrior Tier - Community support and co-regulation

5. Medical evaluation - Rule out physiological causes (thyroid, hormones, etc.)

Timeline: This is a longer journey. 3-6 months of consistent, gentle work to begin shifting. 12-18 months to fully restore nervous system flexibility.

The Truth:

Dorsal shutdown is not permanent. I've worked with men who've emerged from this state. But it requires patience, support, and professional guidance.

Your body shut down to protect you. Now we teach it that it's safe to come back online.

If your scores are BALANCED (within 3-5 points):

FLEXIBLE NERVOUS SYSTEM - The Adaptive Warrior

What This Means:

You have nervous system flexibility—the ability to move between states based on context.

This is ideal.

You can:

• Activate sympathetic mobilization when needed (challenge, urgency)

• Return to ventral vagal safety afterward (rest, connection)

• Access dorsal states consciously (deep rest, meditation)

• Not get stuck in any one pattern

How You Got Here:

You've likely:

• Maintained consistent practices (breathwork, movement, meditation)

• Have good life balance (work, rest, play, connection)

• Process stress rather than accumulate it

• Have supportive relationships

• Engage in nervous system regulation practices (even if you don't call them that)

Your Strengths:

✅ Resilience

✅ Adaptability

✅ Emotional range

✅ Recovery capacity

✅ Stress tolerance without burnout

Your Next Level:

Maintain what you're doing—and refine:

• Deepen your awareness of state shifts

• Learn to shift states faster and more consciously

• Explore advanced breathwork (Wim Hof, tummo, holotropic)

• Train extreme resilience (cold exposure, heat, fasting)

• Mentor others in nervous system regulation

Recommended: Warrior Tier for community. Magician Tier for advanced exploration.

UNDERSTANDING POLYVAGAL THEORY

The Science Behind Your Results

Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) operates on a hierarchy discovered by Dr. Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory):

1. VENTRAL VAGAL (Newest Evolutionarily - Mammals)

• Function: Safety, social engagement, rest/digest

• When Active: You feel calm, connected, present

• Breath: Deep, diaphragmatic, slow

• Heart Rate: Lower, variable (high HRV)

• Physiology: Digestion works, immune system strong, healing occurs

2. SYMPATHETIC (Older - Reptilian)

• Function: Mobilization, fight/flight, action

• When Active: You feel energized, urgent, or anxious

• Breath: Shallow, rapid, chest-dominant

• Heart Rate: Elevated, less variable (low HRV)

• Physiology: Digestion shuts down, inflammation increases, chronic activation = disease

3. DORSAL VAGAL (Oldest - Primitive)

• Function: Freeze, shutdown, conservation

• When Active: You feel numb, heavy, disconnected

• Breath: Very shallow or breath-holding

• Heart Rate: Drops significantly

• Physiology: Minimal energy expenditure, dissociation, depression

The Ladder:

Your nervous system climbs and descends this ladder based on perceived safety:

• Feel safe → Ventral vagal (connection, rest)

• Perceive threat → Sympathetic (mobilize, fight/flight)

• Overwhelmed/no escape → Dorsal vagal (freeze, shutdown)

The Problem:

Modern life keeps most men on the sympathetic rung. Chronic stress, screens, caffeine, work pressure, financial anxiety—all signal "threat" to your nervous system.

Eventually, some collapse into dorsal shutdown.

The Solution:

Train your nervous system to access safety states. Not through thinking—through somatic practices:

• Breath (extended exhales activate vagus nerve)

• Movement (grounded, conscious movement signals safety)

• Connection (co-regulation with safe others)

• Nature (orienting to non-threatening environment)

• Interoception (feeling internal states without judgment)

YOUR PERSONALIZED PROTOCOL

Based on your dominant state, here's what to do today:

If SYMPATHETIC DOMINANT (Stress):

Today:

1. Extended exhale breathing - 5 minutes(4-second inhale, 8-second exhale, through nose)

2. Body scan - 3 minutes(Notice sensations without changing them)

3. Grounding - Barefoot on earth/grass for 5 minutes(If available; otherwise, conscious contact with ground indoors)

This Week:

• Download "The Armor We Carry"

• Practice breath protocols 2x daily (morning + evening)

• Reduce caffeine by 50%

• Screen curfew 1 hour before bed

This Month:

• Join Master Tier for structured nervous system training

• Begin daily movement practice (yoga, walking, gentle strength)

• Track HRV (optional but powerful feedback)

• Consider Warrior Tier for coaching

If DORSAL DOMINANT (Shutdown):

Today:

1. Gentle movement - 5 minutes(Simple joint circles, stretching, walking)

2. Humming breath - 2 minutes(Stimulates vagus nerve, brings energy up)

3. Cold water - 30 seconds(Splash face with cold water - activates sympathetic gently)

This Week:

• Schedule consultation with trauma-informed therapist

• Connect with one safe person (call, not text)

• Sunlight exposure - 10 minutes daily

• Begin "The Armor We Carry" breathwork (gently)

This Month:

• 1-on-1 consultation with me for personalized protocol

• Medical check-up (rule out thyroid, testosterone, other factors)

• Join Warrior Tier for community co-regulation

• Small, consistent practices (don't push, build slowly)

If VENTRAL DOMINANT (Safety) or FLEXIBLE:

Today:

1. Gratitude for your nervous system - Acknowledge this capacity

2. Advanced breath practice - Box breathing, Wim Hof, or breath holds

3. Challenge training - Cold shower, difficult movement, or fasting

This Week:

• Maintain what's working

• Explore complexity (new movement patterns, meditation depth)

• Consider mentoring someone with nervous system struggles

This Month:

• Warrior Tier for community and continued growth

• Magician Tier for advanced nervous system training

• Explore frontier science (HRV biofeedback, biofield coherence)

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Your Nervous System = Your Reality

Everything you experience is filtered through your autonomic state:

In VENTRAL VAGAL (Safety):

• The world feels manageable

• People seem trustworthy

• Challenges feel like opportunities

• Your body feels like home

In SYMPATHETIC (Stress):

• The world feels threatening

• People seem unreliable or demanding

• Challenges feel overwhelming

• Your body feels tense and vigilant

In DORSAL VAGAL (Shutdown):

• The world feels pointless

• People feel exhausting

• Challenges feel impossible

• Your body feels heavy and foreign

Same world. Different nervous system state. Different reality.

This is why nervous system training is the most important work you can do.

Not willpower. Not "just think positive." Actual physiological state change.

NEXT STEPS

You now know your nervous system baseline. The question is: What will you do with this information?

Option 1: Do Nothing

Hope it gets better on its own. Keep pushing. Keep coping.

It won't improve. It will compound.

Option 2: Random Self-Help

Try YouTube videos, apps, podcasts. Get bits and pieces. No coherent system.

Scattered effort = scattered results.

Option 3: Enter The Infinite Warrior System

Structured nervous system training based on polyvagal theory, breathwork, somatic awareness, and embodied movement.

Start here:

1. Download "The Armor We Carry" - Free somatic breathwork protocol→ [Link]

2. Take the Full Embodiment Assessment - 20 minutes→ [Link](This questionnaire is one piece; the full assessment maps physical capability, interoceptive awareness, and breath capacity)

3. Join Master Tier - Complete nervous system training curriculum→ [Link]

4. Join Warrior Tier - Weekly coaching, community co-regulation, workshops→ [Link]

5. Book Magician Tier Consultation - 1-on-1 personalized protocol→ [Link]

Final Words

Your nervous system score isn't a judgment. It's a map.

For decades, you adapted to survive—to achieve, to provide, to succeed. Your nervous system did what it had to do.

But survival strategies that worked at 30 break down at 50.

Chronic sympathetic activation creates inflammation, disease, disconnection.Dorsal shutdown creates depression, isolation, decline.

There is another way.

Nervous system coherence. Ventral vagal capacity. The ability to rest, connect, and heal.

This is trainable. At any age.

I'm 67. My nervous system is more regulated now than it was at 40. Not through genetics—through practice.

You can do this too.

The work begins with awareness. You have that now.The transformation begins with practice. That's your choice.

— Monty StilsonThe Infinite Warrior

Begin Your Nervous System Training: montystilson.com