The Window of Tolerance

2:53

Companion Slides

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

Key Concepts

  • The window of tolerance: the zone of optimal arousal
  • Above the window: hyperarousal (anxiety, panic, rage)
  • Below the window: hypoarousal (shutdown, numbness, dissociation)
  • Trauma narrows the window — smaller range before overwhelm
  • Everyone's window is different — and it changes day to day

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

Getting Back Inside the Window

Grounding, breathing, and co-regulation — practical tools to return to the window.