Window of Tolerance & Direct Nervous System Practices
The nervous system is our brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves that send messages from our brain to our body. Part of what our nervous system does is notice and help us respond to stress, threats, and danger. In this discussion I’m going to focus just on the aspects that relate to our convo in this course and the concept of the Window of Tolerance. My disclaimer is that this is intentionally oversimplified so we don’t want to get lost in the details. If you want to understand the science in more depth, I’d recommend reading about polyvagal theory.
We all have a baseline level of nervous system activity, and it’s constantly shifting throughout our day depending on what we’re doing and what we need. When something challenging or stressful happens we need our nervous system to activate so that our muscles can engage and we can respond to that challenge. When we are in non-threatening situations, then our system can shift into a state that allows for relaxation and rest, where we can digest our food, and connect with our people.
Let’s take a look at this diagram. The middle section represents what we can call our Window of Tolerance, which is our optimal state of arousal. Again, when something stressful happens we need our Nervous System to move up in activation but ideally we also want to stay inside the boundary of what our system can tolerate.
When we are in our window of tolerance, we can manage our emotions, we have access to our higher thinking regions of the brain, and we’re more likely to be in our present moment experience.
Now, let’s focus on the other parts of this picture. When we become overwhelmed and the stress, danger, or threat of stress is too much, we might shoot up into this hyperarousal (overactivated) state. That’s where we’ll feel that high anxiety and those fight or flight responses. They take over and we can feel overwhelmed or out of control here.This is what we call being dysregulated and out of our window of tolerance.
From overarousal we might then move into a shut down state. That’s when freeze and dissociation comes in. Some people move into hypoarousal really quickly, some may stay in the hyperarounsal longer.
When we are in fight, flight, or freeze we’re in our survival states. while, these are adaptive internal processes and necessary in certain situations… they aren’t as helpful for most of our daily problems of living and those brain states do not allow for optimal healing or integration.
Chronic stress and trauma impacts how sensitive our systems are to signs of threat, how it responds, and how long it takes to come back to our baseline. In essence, difficult experiences shrink our window of tolerance and then we end up in dysregulation too quickly or too often. Sometimes we get stuck in these places and live in those survival zones.
Everybody’s nervous system responses and triggers are different because we all have unique life experiences. A common goal is to widen/strengthen our nervous systems tolerance for stress so that we can respond more appropriately - without getting so overwhelmed or shutting down.
Everything we talk about in this course widens that window of tolerance - that includes the lifestyle factors from the other section - rest, nutrition, minimizing stress, restorative activities, and having supportive people in our lives.
Grounding and mindfulness practice and other coping skills work directly with our nervous system and at widening that Window Of Tolerance.
(Direct NS Practice) Breathe is our first, most accessible, and direct way in. A caveat being that for some people focusing on your breath is more triggering, again, find what feels right for you.
A breathing exercise can be as simple as pausing, noticing your breath, and intentionally stretching it out. Let’s try that now. Tune into your awareness of how your breath is moving in this moment. Is it shallow, slow, deep, smooth … now intentionally begin to deepen that inhale and then stretch the exhale out. And continue for a few more rounds. For some people, a simple deep breathing pause can be enough to settle their systems. For others, it may offer a greater ability to notice and respond to whatever else might be happening inside. Focusing on our breath might not make the hard thing go away, but it will give us a greater capacity to be with it.
Box breathing is another simple exercise. That’s where you inhale for a count of ⅘ seconds creating that first edge of the box, hold your breath at the top for ⅘ seconds, exhale for that same count, and hold. Creating an internal image of a box connected to your breath cycle. Repeating a few rounds.
Taxing your working memory can be also be used as a grounding or coping skill. If you’re feeling activated Try singing the alphabet backwards or doing multiplication times tables. You’re reengaging other parts of your brain that shut off during overwhelming moments.
Progressive muscle relaxation can be helpful if you feel a lot of activation in your body. This is where you isolate your awareness of different muscles in your body and alternate between creating tension and releasing it. For example, tightening the muscles of your arms and balling your fists, then exhaling and releasing that tension. You can find guided recordings of Progressive Muscle Relaxations exercises online.
Similarly, self touch can bring regulation. It can be as simple as a self hug and deep breath. Or a more intentional exercise.
Places can also have a regulating effect on our NS. There is a huge amount of research supporting the positive impact of nature on our physical selves - including our nervous system. Taking a walk outside, sitting on a porch and noticing sensory information, scan your horizon and widen that visual scope - these are easy applications of this idea.
The use of sound is another resource. Of course, nature sounds are soothing, ocean sounds bring in a sense of rhythm that our system likes. Music and even recordings of binaural beats or singing bowls can be used as tools for different states of activation. Think about creating a playlist and having it ready for when you need to find some regulation. Humming and singing are great options as well.
Finally, as we discuss in our video on safety - Noticing cues of safety and orienting exercise can be used as direct tools.
Quick Note:
Different tools are often needed or preferred for different times or different states we may be in: For example
If you’re more in the hyper/over aroused state:, External grounding can be helpful. External grounding is orienting to your present environment by using your senses - You can use the 54321 grounding practice for this. What are 5 things you see, 4 hear, 3 feel, 2 smell, 1 taste,; Energetic movement to discharge energy can also feel good in this more hyperactivated state - think of dancing or running. Again It can be extra helpful if there's an element of rhythm present..
If you're in the more shutdown space and frozen or disconnected from your body - going inward and going gently can be helpful in re-engaging; you can do a body scan or body scan mediation, start by naming the sensations you’re currently feeling, firm pressure and self touch exercises, and slow intentional movement. The intention is to shift from shutdown to more ideal levels of activation.
Takeaway: Direct practices are tools that you can use in a hard moment to find more regulation and that will also, with time and practice, grow your WOT and start to change your NS reactions. Learning your systems patterns and playing with different tools can help you find what works best for you.