How Trauma Can Affect Your Window of Tolerance

Traumatic experiences can overwhelm your neurological system, which can lead to heightened sensitivity and affect your ability to manage your emotions for many years afterward.

In this article, we explore how trauma can affect your window of tolerance, signs that your window of tolerance has been disrupted, and steps you can take to heal.

What Is the Window of Tolerance?

The window of tolerance is a concept originally developed by American psychiatrist Dan Siegel, MD, that describes the optimal range of physiological arousal for us to function on a daily basis.

Every individual’s window of tolerance is unique. The window of tolerance has upper and lower boundaries that are characterized by states of hyperarousal (too much physiological arousal) and hypoarousal (too little physiological arousal), says Dr. Jo.

When our window is wide, we can tolerate a variety of emotional experiences and interpersonal interactions and more readily maintain a sense of safety; however, when our window of tolerance is narrow, our everyday experiences can lead us into unmanageable dysregulated states in which everything seems threatening, Dr. Jo explains.

Trauma and Its Impact on the Window of Tolerance

A traumatic experience is something that disrupts your emotional equilibrium and sense of safety, causing you to experience significant fear, confusion, helplessness, or dissociation. Examples of traumatic experiences include accidents, illness, violence, and natural disasters.

In this state, once you are outside your window of tolerance, your capacity to function is impaired and your system is unable to process and integrate the experience, Dr. Jo explains. 

As a result, your memories of the event may be incomplete, fragmented, disordered, or contradictory. Afterward, you may also start to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says Dr. Jo.

Impact of Complex Trauma

Complex trauma is a form of trauma that is severe and ongoing. It includes experiences such as childhood neglect, abuse, assault, violence, racism, and war, Dr. Jo explains.

Complex trauma often develops in childhood, but may also develop in adulthood, says Dr. Jo. Below, he outlines how this can affect the window of tolerance:

• Experiencing complex trauma in childhood: During childhood, a mix of your genetic temperament and caregiving environment shape the width of your window of tolerance. Childhood experiences of complex trauma narrow the window over time, stunt the developmental process, and impair the functioning of the mind and body.
• Experiencing complex trauma in adulthood: As adults, complex trauma narrows the window of tolerance and impairs your ability to function effectively and consistently in the contexts of relationships, school, and work, due to increased emotional dysregulation.

Signs of Window of Tolerance Disruption

When your window of tolerance has been disrupted, Dr. Jo notes that you may experience a dysregulated state of either hyperarousal or hypoarousal:

• Hyperarousal: In states of hyperarousal, the sympathetic nervous system is overactivated. This can cause you to experience hypervigilance, intense and overwhelming emotional reactions (which often include fear and anger), anxiety, exaggerated startle responses, disorganized thought processes, intrusive thoughts and images, flashbacks, sleep disturbances, and nightmares.
• Hypoarousal: In states of hypoarousal, the parasympathetic nervous system is immobilized to conserve energy. This can lead to numbness, shock, absence of sensation and emotion, severe depression, disabled cognitive processing, disconnection from others, and dissociation. Some people even experience a total mental and physical collapse, causing them to shut down.
  

Healing and Expanding the Window of Tolerance

These are some steps you can take to heal from the traumatic experience and expand your window of tolerance.

Self-Regulation Techniques

Self-regulation involves becoming aware of your triggers, noticing how you react to them, and learning to control your reactions.

These are some strategies that can help you track your triggers and reactions:

• Pay attention to your triggers: A first step is to identify the experiences, thoughts, and images that bring you to the boundaries of your window of tolerance and trigger the hyperarousal/hypoarousal states, says Dr. Jo.
• Be mindful of your reactions: The next step is to be present in your body and observe how you react to your triggers. By being present in your body and paying attention to your emotions and bodily sensations, you can increase your capacity to mindfully observe your experiences and learn to regulate your arousal states, Dr. Jo explains.

These are some steps you can take to regulate your emotions if you’re experiencing hyperarousal, according to Dr. Jo:

• Breathing exercises: Breathing exercises like deep breathing, box breathing, and cyclic sighing can help counter hyperarousal by calming your heart rate, restoring regular breathing, and reducing anxiety.
• Relaxation techniques: Doing a progressive muscle relaxation or a relaxing visualization exercise can also help you manage your reaction to a stressor.
• Purposeful movements: Lengthening and aligning your posture, and pushing against walls can help discharge anger and tension.
• Environment scanning: Doing a 5-4-3-2-1 scan of your current environment can help you stay grounded in the present. List five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

These are some steps you can take to regulate yourself if you’re experiencing hypoarousal, according to Dr. Jo:

• Stand and move your body.
• Shake yourself.
• Jump up and down.
• Squeeze and relax your muscles.
• Engage your five senses, looking for things you can touch or smell, for example.
  

Therapeutic Interventions

It can also be helpful to seek help from a mental health professional who is trained in trauma-informed therapy and can help you navigate the aftereffects of trauma. Trauma-informed care takes into account your trauma history and provides a safe and supportive environment for healing.

These are some forms of therapy that can help you heal from trauma:

• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT): TF-CBT helps you manage your trauma responses and re-learn that there are safe people in the world who will not hurt you.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: EMDR therapy involves processing and understanding the traumatic experience while paying attention to a back-and-forth sound or movement, such as a finger waving from side to side, a tone, or a light.
• Somatic experiencing: Somatic therapy integrates body awareness into the therapeutic process, by creating awareness of inner physical sensations, which are considered the carriers of traumatic memories.

After identifying the boundaries of your window of tolerance and developing more regulation tools, working with your therapist at the edges of your window can help you develop a “dual focus” on both your internal emotional experience and the circumstances of the present, says Dr. Jo. “This dual focus helps you to stay present, observe your experiences, and increase your capacity to tolerate intense emotions.”

This exercise not only expands your window of tolerance, but also supports the healing process of trauma by building trust, developing new beliefs, and internalizing a safe and supportive relationship that can undo the harm created from interpersonal trauma, says Dr. Jo.

Supportive Relationships

Building healthy, supportive relationships with trusted people can help you co-regulate your emotions and expand your window of tolerance.

Support can come in the form of loved ones such as friends, family members, and partners. It can also be in the form of a support group of people who have had similar experiences and can share experience, resources, and advice.

Self-Care Practices

Practicing self-care can help support better physical and emotional well-being and improve your resilience. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, following a nutritious diet, getting regular exercise, and engaging in hobbies that interest you.