03/31/2026
Learn more about the window of tolerance from Associate Therapist Kelsy Nelson.
Video Tanscript:
Hello, it's Kelsey, Associate Therapist with Counseling for All. So today I want to talk about your window of tolerance, which is when you feel like you can deal with life stressors or pressures without it bothering you too much.
On either end of the window of tolerance is hyper, arousal, and hypoarousal.
Hyper arousal is when you are anxious, angry, out of control, and overwhelmed, whereas hypoarousal is when you are spacey, zoned out, numb, or frozen.
Think of your window of tolerance like a meter, and throughout the day you may fluctuate up towards overwhelm, or down towards numbness, depending on the triggers that happen throughout your day. But if you stay within your window, you can remain regulated and balanced.
When you experience trauma or stress, the size of your window of tolerance can shrink, so it takes less for you to be pushed off balance. To help remain within your window of tolerance, it is beneficial to know what triggers you into either hypo or hyper arousal, and which state of arousal you enter and when.
Then you can utilize different regulating methods to help bring yourself back into your window of tolerance.
If you would like to know more about the window of tolerance and how the different regulation strategies could be beneficial, reach out to a therapist for support.
