Many people who experience a lot of trauma or chronic stress in their lives can often feel as if they live in what feels like a constant feeling of overwhelm. It can feel like the mind and body is being flooded by an overflow of cortisol and adrenalin, or perhaps feelings of being numb or detached from reality. Experiences of feeling alert, present in the now, calm, connected to others, and contained within oneself (known as the Window of Tolerance) can feel rare and short-lived for many people trying to recover from traumatic experiences.
The Window of Tolerance (Dan Siegal; https://www.nicabm.com/nervous-system-after-trauma/) describes the window within which you function most effectively in the world. When you stay within your window of tolerance you feel balanced emotionally, connected to others, and are able to be reflective and are able to think logically.
On either side of this window, lies the trauma responses of fight (e.g. anger, rage), flight (e.g. anxiety, panic), freeze (e.g. dissociated, spacey, numb) and fawn (e.g. people pleasing behaviours).
The sensitisation of the nervous system over time through repeated stress can narrow the window of tolerance, meaning that some people find they experience a lot of feelings of being fearful, panicky, agitated, angry and enraged (on the hyperarousal side of the window); or spacey, detached, depressed, numbed off, and dissociated (on the hypoarousal side of the window).
The good news is that there are different strategies that can help a person return to their window of tolerance. These often involve engaging in activities that help the brain to release feel good neurotransmitters such as endorphins, GABA, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. Sensory activities are often very helpful with helping a person to engage in grounding and centering.
One of the common struggles in healing from trauma concerns learning how to reduce your experiences of overwhelm, as being outside your window of tolerance will leave you feeling unsafe and vulnerable. You may behave in ways that you would not normally, possibly returning to past coping behaviours without thought – spending, eating, drinking or drugging. You may find yourself gripped either by chaos or rigidity. It may be hard at these times for you to access your healthy side, and to manage your thoughts and emotions.
Psychologists work with people in recovery from trauma by helping to recognise the triggers and early warning signs of moving outside the window of tolerance, and by tailoring stress management strategies specific to the person. With the right help, it is possible to reduce episodes of overwhelm and to broaden the time spent in the window of tolerance.
Some of the tools that can help include:
- Taking deep breaths, extending your exhale
- Mindful awareness of body signs
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Massage
- Adequate rest & management of exhaustion
- Close, emotionally and physically safe, supportive relationships
- Being in nature
- Self soothing in healthy ways
- Various grounding exercises
- Engaging your senses – what can you see, hear, feel, touch and taste
- Intense sensory experiences such as cold water immersion, intense exercise, paced breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation
This is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. Please seek guidance from a qualified and AHPRA registered mental health professional regarding your mental health.
To enquire about an appointment at Moving Forward Clinical Psychologists, please complete our Online Contact Form, and a member of our team will be in touch shortly. Alternatively, please call us on 1300 133 013.
Our experienced Clinical Psychologists are located in Terrigal (10 minutes from Erina) on the beautiful NSW Central Coast. We are also available Australia wide, via Telehealth.