How Trauma Creates Narrow “Windows of Tolerance” in Survivors

People with healthy nervous systems can generally respond to unexpected events and everyday stressors with grace and ease. They have what’s called a “wide window of tolerance,” meaning it takes more than a traffic jam or unkind word to trigger a violent outburst or complete emotional shutdown.

But the nervous system of trauma survivors have a narrow window of tolerance. The range of acceptable stress is much smaller, which is why trauma clients may be triggered by seemingly insignificant events.

In this video, Irina Diyankova, PhD, RYT-200 reveals the neuroscience behind narrow windows of tolerance, why trauma survivors are more prone to extreme reactions to stress and what you can do to help your clients handle stress in healthy ways.