At Alpine Counselling Clinic in Vancouver, through my full counselling/coaching practice, I have been even more acutely aware of the ripple effect of the pandemic on many people’s nervous system. One such impact is that the inner window of tolerance for our, normally wide, range of feelings and reactions starts to narrow. A common expression that captures part of that concept is when we say someone has a short fuse, meaning they are quick to anger.
More than this, when someone has a small rather than expanded window of tolerance, it usually signifies that their nervous system has become either hyper aroused or hypo-aroused. Let me explain…
As results of trauma or traumatic stress our nervous system becomes hyper-aroused meaning the part of our brain that is in fight or flight mode (amygdala) is activated and we may become emotionally overwhelmed, impulsive, hypervigilant, defensive and reactive. Without this being a conscious choice, we perceive the world as dangerous and threatening and have much less response flexibility. Thus, our window of tolerance narrows as we recoil in protective mode, then become easily triggered, and lose the ability to respond; we tend to react or over-react instead. And off course, during the pandemic, some people experienced the stress of isolation, and various types of losses (jobs, livelihood and/or loved ones) as traumatic stress.
In response to traumatic stress or trauma, some people’s nervous system becomes hypo-aroused; they are in freeze mode and are likely to feel numb, passive, unable to think, disconnected, shut down, unmotivated, ashamed and unable to say “no”.
Fortunately, the field of trauma therapy and neuroscience has equipped therapists with ways of addressing, processing and healing trauma, regardless of how far back it occurred. Commonly, we see people having ignored their emotions and experience of trauma while striving to “get over it” on their own, or stay “strong”. But unaddressed trauma and related emotions often gets to fester within, later giving rise to anxiety, panic attacks and even phobias.
If you or someone close to you is being troubled by some of these symptoms, feel free to book a session to start gaining clarity, untangle the trauma in your past or present, process and heal it, so you can regain inner peace and emotional stability. As author/therapist Hillary Jacobs Handel says, we can regain a wider window of tolerance and an openhearted way of being which consists of dwelling in the 7 C states: calm, curious, courageous, compassionate, confident, clear and connected. Feel free to contact Alpine Clinic – 604-732-3930 to request a full session or a complementary consultation for 30 minutes instead.
