Pattern B: Protection Orientation
Sympathetic mobilization or dorsal withdrawal
Core Proposition
In Pattern B, the nervous system shifts out of cooperative regulation and into protection. Sympathetic mobilization or partial dorsal withdrawal becomes active, biological arousal increases, perception narrows toward risk, empathy becomes selective, and behavior trends toward vigilance, withdrawal, boundary defense, or reactive control.
"Pattern B is not a failure of connection. It is what makes future connection possible."
This pattern represents an adaptive protective response to reduced safety rather than a pathology. Pattern B exists because remaining open during threat causes harm.
Five-Axis Analysis
Nervous System State
Sympathetic mobilization or dorsal withdrawal
Scientific Origin
Autonomic nervous system research — Sympathetic activation supports fight–flight responses; dorsal vagal pathways support withdrawal when mobilization is constrained.
TEG-Blue Application
The nervous system prioritizes protection over connection. Regulation shifts toward detecting and responding to potential threat rather than maintaining reciprocity.
Biological Activation
Elevated arousal; defense physiology active
Scientific Origin
Stress response research — Increased heart rate, cortisol, and adrenaline prepare the body for short-term protection.
TEG-Blue Application
Energy is mobilized for immediate response. Physiological resources are allocated toward vigilance, action, or withdrawal rather than sustained engagement or repair.
Cognitive Frame
Narrowed perception; threat-biased interpretation
Scientific Origin
Cognitive appraisal theory — Threat appraisal narrows attention and prioritizes risk detection. Salience networks bias perception toward potential danger.
TEG-Blue Application
Information is filtered through a protective lens. Ambiguity is reduced, complexity is compressed, and interpretation favors potential loss or harm over relational nuance.
Empathy Logic
Selective, self-protective empathy
Scientific Origin
Attachment and threat regulation research — Under threat, empathic capacity becomes conditional and self-referential.
TEG-Blue Application
Empathy remains available but is constrained. Others are evaluated in terms of safety, risk, or alignment rather than mutuality. Relational engagement becomes conditional.
Behavioral Expression
Vigilance, withdrawal, boundary defense, reactive control
Scientific Origin
Defensive behavior research — Organisms increase protective actions when safety decreases.
TEG-Blue Application
Behavior trends toward guarding boundaries, monitoring threat, disengaging from risk, or exerting reactive control to restore a sense of safety.
Common Pattern B Outputs
None of these are pathological by default. They represent appropriate protective responses:
Hypervigilance
Worry, scanning for cues
Rule-following
Safety through compliance
People-pleasing
Accommodation to prevent rupture
Conflict avoidance
Or quick defensiveness
Emotional distancing
Withdrawal from risk
Boundary tightening
Limits to reduce exposure
What Pattern B Uniquely Enables
When regulation remains in Pattern B, several protective capacities emerge. These capacities are adaptive in the presence of threat but become limiting if sustained.
Rapid threat detection
The system becomes highly responsive to potential danger
Boundary formation
Clear limits are established to reduce exposure
Short-term survival action
Energy is available for immediate response
In Healthy Functioning
- Pattern B activates only as long as needed
- Protection is proportional to the situation
- Once safety returns, the system softens again
When awareness is limited or threat is unresolved, Pattern B can become chronic hypervigilance, where defense becomes the baseline rather than a response.
Entry: A → B
Safety drops; protection activates.
When the nervous system detects real discomfort, uncertainty, or threat, staying open becomes unsafe. Ventral vagal regulation gives way to defensive mobilization.
Exit: B → C
Threat becomes ongoing; strategy replaces connection.
As threat persists without resolution, mobilization becomes metabolically costly. Energy drops, connection disengages, and behavior becomes calculated.
Escalation Risk: Moderate
If threat becomes sustained and connection stops producing safety, the system may drift toward strategy and control. The window for return to Pattern A narrows as defensive patterns stabilize.
Cross-References
Pattern B is an adaptive protective response. It becomes limiting only when it stabilizes as the baseline rather than remaining responsive to changing conditions.