The Window of Tolerance

3:10

Companion Slides

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

Key Concepts

  • Window of tolerance: the zone of optimal arousal where we can function
  • Hyperarousal: above the window — anxiety, panic, rage, hypervigilance
  • Hypoarousal: below the window — numbness, shutdown, dissociation
  • Trauma narrows the window — what looks like 'overreacting' is a narrow window
  • The window can widen — through safety, connection, and practice

Part of

Module 1: How Trauma Changes People

What trauma really is, how the brain responds, what the ACE study tells us, and the science of resilience.

Up next

Returning to the Window

When someone leaves their Window of Tolerance — practical paths back in for helpers and survivors.