Window of Tolerance

Happy New Year!  I hope you enjoyed any celebrations. Today’s topic is fitting to this season–Window of Tolerance.  Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can handle stress well, while other times the littlest challenges feel overwhelming?  Like when your shirt gets caught on a drawer and you start crying?  It happens to all of us!  This concept can help with understanding how your brain and body respond to stress.

The Window of Tolerance is essentially the zone in which you can manage and respond to life’s ups and downs without becoming overwhelmed. When you’re within this window, you can think clearly, make decisions, regulate emotions, and stay connected to yourself and others.
Sometimes, however, stress pushes us outside this window. There are two common ways this shows up:

• Hyper-arousal: You might feel anxious, panicked, angry, or restless. Your body is on high alert, like it’s ready to fight or run.
• Hypo-arousal: You might feel numb, detached, tired, or shut down. Your energy drops, and it can be hard to think or take action.

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The Window of Tolerance can be expanded with practice.  Mindfulness, grounding exercises, gentle movement, and self-compassion can help you stay within your window more often and return to it when you drift out.

Ways to Notice Your Window:

• Pay attention to physical signs: Are your shoulders tense? Heart racing? Feeling heavy or slow?
• Check in with your emotions: Are you irritable, anxious, or sad? Or feeling empty or numb?
• ​Observe your thinking: Can you focus, plan, and make choices, or is your mind racing or foggy?

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By understanding your window, you can better recognize when you are exiting and take steps to bring yourself back.  Try tracking how you feel over the next week to see what trends emerge!