#window of tolerance

[owyncountsstars]

Apparently it’s come to my attention that some people think Mike in the hospital didn’t react or feel much when it comes to his parents getting mortally wounded.

And uh. Mike is SUFFERING. His mind is absolutely on overload, just in a different way, and I said something in a tumblr comment that I want to bring up in a post with other things.

I want to compare two things by bringing up what’s called the Window of Tolerance:

Just because Mike is not explosively crying or angry or yelling doesn’t mean he’s not reacting. Just because he’s not reacting in a way that’s ‘interesting’ or ‘engaging’ to watch doesn’t mean there isn’t anything going on in his head.

Nancy is experiencing HYPERarousal, which is where her own yelling and anger and crying and frantic problem solving comes from.

Mike is experiencing HYPOarousal. First of all, he’s severely dissociating in one scene, which I went over in a separate post:

Second, one of the symptoms of hypoarousal is surrendering or being submissive and/or compliant:

When Nancy is yelling at Mike and saying “we could’ve done something, we could’ve acting last week, last month,” Mike just…sits there and TAKES it. He barely even tries to fight back, he just sits there and takes it with the most heartbreaking look on his face:

HE IS BARELY EVEN CONTRIBUTING TO THE CONVERSATION. Because he has nothing to say, his body and mind have completely shut down and he CAN’T fight back because his mind is in severe trauma freeze mode I guess. I do the same thing when greeted with conflict or trauma, I respond to negative stimuli the same way Mike does in these scenes.

And from what we’ve seen in the show, Mike is normally a very proactive character, making plans, explaining said plans, putting plans into action, bringing the group together and breaking things down and taking action- he’s very goal oriented for the most part.

But Mike here, he has completely shut down. He has no fight left.

(Also Noah and Finn’s acting specifically feels so much more elevated, they’ve both matured so much as actors and I really felt an ‘upgrade’ this season like dear god they are powerful actors)

Mike IS reacting, his mind has just been overwhelmed by so much that it shut down.

All gifs made by me in Canva :)

[bones-and-lichen]

The window of stress tolerance linked with ptsd is a strange one. In situations everyone else might panic you remain calm, yet much smaller stresses that others cope with just well are like hell.

The good thing is that this is smth that can be slowly regained.

The window of tolerance can be trained like a muscle and toned to be more resistant over time.

Hypervigilance is like a protective, loving dog that’s also extremely aggressive and scared that sees threats everywhere and does it’s best to protect you from all those potential threats, see it like gently showing that protector that the world is safer than assumed. You wouldn’t push a scared animal into the cold water and expect them to cope and get better, either.

Hypervigilance needs to be „relaxed“ out of. No demanding, telling oneself that it’s not ok to feel this stressed. Approaching taking on more things, or experiences from a view of very gently stretching that window of tolerance. If you’re suffering thru it it only reinforces your Hypervigilance in its sense of threat.

It has to feel atleast somewhat good to „expand“. A experience can start shaky at first, but there has to be smth enjoyable or atleast grounding about it in it to learn it’s „safe.“

[katimorton]

Have you ever wanted connection but felt yourself tense up the closer someone got? This video aims to make emotional intimacy feel manageable. We cover why "Deep Talks" and intensity aren't actually intimacy and why they might be the reason you feel suffocated. We explore the Window of Tolerance, how your nervous system protects you by shutting down, and how to build "sustainable intimacy" in small, safe doses. If you’ve ever felt like you’re just “bad at relationships,” this is the missing piece.

[unwelcome-ozian]

[serenityquest]

[riverageleis]

My therapist said a term I'd never heard yesterday: Window of Tolerance. I realized yesterday that I stay in the orange to red and have for... ever. 😬 Then, like the last several weeks, my body has been screaming that I'm creeping into the blue. How do I know? Sounds that normally aren't a bother, like my cat's water fountain trickling, grate on my nerves. Lately, it's been smells. Mould. Cat poop (despite no food changes), cow manure (my parents live near a cow farm and it NEVER bothers me), cigarette smoke (as a former smoker, it's never been an issue), bleach (!) now makes me gag, vinegar (a formerly sought out scent) burns. My senses are so skewed. It exhausts me to my bones. I need it quiet. I need things unscented. I need soft materials on my skin and paws. What do you find yourself needing when you're overwhelmed? (Graphic uncredited because I couldn't find a source. Will credit when I find it.)

[anarchistshitposting]

[mememegood]