The many forms of hypervigilance
Hypervigilance can be understood as a state of heightened awareness of one's surroundings. When I first learned about hypervigilance, I imagined it looking like someone with increased alertness, remaining stiff in their body and breathing in a distressed way. Although this image can hold true for many folks, that example is just the tip of the iceberg.
Hypervigilance takes many forms—
Checking surroundings and having trouble staying present
Heightened startle response
Physiological (body-related) symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, dilated pupils, breathing quickly
Core beliefs around feeling unsafe and uneasy in new environments
Overanalyzing people’s responses and situations
Overly attached to communication devices (ie phones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, various social media platforms).
Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
I view hypervigilance as a symptom of developmental trauma.
Developmental trauma develops as a response to unstable or unsafe living environments often occurring in one's early years. Our bodies learn to protect ourselves by staying overly alert to surroundings. Makes sense, right? In times of distress, it can feel as though all surroundings are unsafe. When remaining in a hypervigilant state, people often become fatigued or exhausted easily and can respond in ways that don’t match the situation. It is exhausting for our bodies to remain constantly on watch or in a hyperaroused state.
Our SmartPhones, or as I lovingly call them our god-boxes, is yet another way to remain in a hypervigilant state. The general public may sometimes poke fun at younger generations for being “obsessed” with the internet when in fact, their hypervigilance may be showing up in their behaviors around social media.
This form of hypervigilance can look like—
Constantly checking on one's social media to stay up to date with the latest gossip
Being worried and distressed about missing out on what might be said about them or others on the internet
Overanalyzing likes, follows, reactions and re-tweets
We’ve moved from feeling unsafe in immediate surroundings to feeling supremely stressed by virtual reality. Our brains don’t get a break.
WAYS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF HYPERVIGILANCE—
In order to work through a problem, we must first recognize we have one. Below are a few helpful tips for reducing hypervigilance in the body and mind:
Mindfulness can help us develop a deeper sense of self-awareness. Being mindful of how we respond to our behaviors can move us away from behaviors that don’t serve us
Checking the facts around a situation can help bring us back to reality and subdue any strong sense of endangerment
Communicating with others our feelings and concerns can be a helpful way to lower our feelings of dread and stress by having trusted folks give helpful feedback
Tapping the body in an alternating, rhythmic pattern can help ground us (ie tapping hands on thighs; utilizing the butterfly-hug method)
A more deeper way of coping with hypervigilance can be through long-term therapy. Therapy provides a safe-enough container for clients to better understand root causes of being in a hypervigilant state and how to cope when activated.
I work with many clients who have successfully coped with hypervigilance and have successfully worked through its impact on the body and mind.
Reach out today if you’d like to learn more about the services I offer and to set up a free 20 minute consultation call. I’m ready to help!
meghan@temperancetherapies.com
612-367-7286