Chronic states of survival and the artificial window of tolerance

There is much talk about window of tolerance, but very little is said about the artificial window of tolerance.

Window of tolerance is a zone where we feel connected with life and feel safe to explore. It’s a physiological and psychological zone where we process environmental signals without becoming too reactive or too withdrawn.

You have a window of tolerance that is unique to you. A crucial part of your healing journey is to learn to recognise it. Living within it is what will enable you to experience a true sense of well being.

But many of us who have been living in a chronic state of stress, and this is also true for people who has developmental trauma, are not aware that we are living within a fake window of tolerance.

We have developed coping strategies, that gives us a false sense of okiness. We unconsciously normalise the artificial window of tolerance, thinking that we feel settled and relaxed, even when we are well outside of our window of tolerance.

This is not true regulation and it may feel like it if you haven’t experienced genuine sustained self-regulation.

If you don’t recognise this issue, all you might be doing in your healing journey is strengthening your artificial window of tolerance instead of expanding your true window of tolerance.

You can only increase resilience when you work within your actual window of tolerance.

Did you know about the artificial window of tolerance? Please write your questions in the comments, so that I can answer them in future posts.