The window of tolerance is something that I talk about often in a first session, especially when clients come into sessions asking if ‘they’re crazy’. Not only are they not ‘crazy’, but what they’re experiencing is so common that there is a name for it. The window of tolerance explains how our bodies sometimes react in ways we don’t understand or don’t want. Please see below a diagram of the window of tolerance:
When we are in the optimal section of the window of tolerance we are able to focus, to emotionally regulate, to problem solve, to relax, feel safe, and in general to be able to meet challenges and difficulties. This is because our prefrontal cortex and executive functioning skills are engaged, giving us the tools we need to meet those challenges.
Difficulties arise when we are outside the optimal area, when our prefrontal cortex and executive skills are no longer available to us. This can happen when we become overwhelmed or feel we are in danger, leading to our bodies going into survival mode. Hyperarousal is when our body is in fight or flight mode, which is when the body goes into the type of survival mode that is helpful when there is a practical danger we can escape from (i.e. a bear in the woods) but less helpful when the danger is coming from within (through trauma responses or anxiety). Hyperarousal involves panic, quick breathing, racing heart, increased adrenaline, difficulty thinking clearly, defensiveness, shaking, inability to relax, hypervigilance, and more. People in hyperarousal feel overstimulated with emotions and experiences, and it is much more difficult to deal with challenges we face.
Hypoarousal is when the body completely shuts down or collapses when we feel threatened or overstimulated by emotions and experiences (otherwise called the Freeze response). This can be experienced as depression, dissociation, feeling separate from your body and/or surroundings, low energy, inability to think, emptiness and numbness. Similar to hyperarousal, we don’t feel safe and our bodies are reacting to thinking we are in danger.
The window of tolerance is particularly important for trauma therapy, as people who have experienced traumatic experiences will often find themselves outside of their window of tolerance when triggered. Therapy enables the client to recognise their triggers and develop methods to enable them to feel safe.