Hypervigilance; the elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats around us.
Your brain is designed to be aware of potential threats in your surroundings; it’s how early humans survived; so being vigilant to possible danger in a new or unfamiliar situation is normal to help keep us safe, we usually recognise it as a slight unease until we start to relax and become accustomed to the environment. Similarly occasionally feeling anxious is a very normal part of life and a feeling that most people would recognise, in response to a new person, a new job, or something we're worried about...
​
However if we have traumatic experiences (which is any event or events we felt extremely distressed and overwhelmed by) we are likely to experience increased anxiety and overwhelm, which can lead to an increased sense of threat in unfamiliar places, and untreated can put us in a state of hypervigilance — the elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats around us. It means you’re extremely sensitive to your surroundings and on high alert to any possible danger, whether from other people or the environment. Essentially you’re reacting to your present environment as if it were the one in which the trauma took place; you’re vigilant to it happening again; your brain is trying to keep you safe.
The part of the brain responsible for responding to threat and the activation of the fear responses such as ‘fight or flight’ and the release of chemicals to rev up your body for action, is the amygdala. It’s like an internal smoke alarm alerting us to the first signs of smoke. And while this usually keeps us safe because it activates a response to a potential threat and helps us survive, if we’ve experienced trauma it is super sensitised and over-reactive. We react to a whiff of cigarette smoke as if the house is burning down.
Symptoms
People living with hypervigilance can experience any of the following symptoms: they are all a very normal and understandable response to past trauma that you're still reacting to now.
Jumpiness
Paranoia
Frequent head jerking and scanning the environment with your eyes
Distraction from important tasks, from speaking with others, and from entertainment
Agitation
Anger
Depression
Isolation
Sleep disturbance
A sense of helplessness
Dependence on others
A tendency to fight or argue with others
Exhaustion
A change in appetite