When the Alarm Won't Turn Off

3:11

Companion Slides

Chronic hyperarousal — the smoke detector that never resets. How trauma rewires the nervous system.

Key Concepts

  • The amygdala as a smoke detector that gets stuck 'on'
  • Chronic hyperarousal: always scanning for danger
  • The nervous system can't distinguish past threat from present safety
  • Trauma rewires the brain toward constant vigilance
  • Why survivors may seem 'overreactive' — their alarm is calibrated to a different setting

Part of

Module 1: Foundations

What trauma is, how it works in the brain, what the ACE study tells us, and why resilience matters.

Up next

The Window of Tolerance

The zone where we can think, feel, and function — and what happens when we leave it.