Updated on June 13, 2025
Have you ever felt stuck in high alert mode, like your mind won’t stop scanning for what might go wrong? Maybe you feel the tension in your shoulders, your jaw, your gut — and even in moments that should feel safe, your body is ready for something bad to happen.
That’s hypervigilance. And it can be exhausting.
What Is Hypervigilance?
Hypervigilance is a state of heightened alertness. It’s when your nervous system stays on guard, constantly scanning your surroundings for threats, even when you’re safe.
This kind of over-awareness often develops after trauma. It’s a survival response, but over time, it becomes hard to turn off. What once helped keep you safe starts interfering with your ability to rest, connect, or feel grounded.
What Causes It?
Hypervigilance is commonly linked to trauma and stress-related disorders. You may see it in people with:
- PTSD or complex PTSD
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- A history of childhood abuse or neglect
- Domestic violence survivors
- People who lived in unpredictable or unsafe environments
- Military combat veterans
- People exposed to repeated emotional invalidation or chronic bullying
When someone has experienced unpredictable harm, especially in relationships that should have felt safe, their system learns to always stay on guard. The brain decides it’s better to be prepared for the worst than to be caught off guard again.
This constant state of alertness can become the new baseline. And that’s where the trouble begins.
Signs of Hypervigilance
Hypervigilance can affect your thoughts, emotions, body, and behavior. You might notice:
- Constant scanning of your surroundings
- Difficulty concentrating or finishing tasks
- Startling easily at sudden noises or movements
- Chronic tension or tight muscles
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Feeling mistrustful, even with people you love
- Irritability or snapping over small things
- Digestive issues or headaches that come and go
- Feeling unsafe, even in objectively calm situations
- Feeling like you can never let your guard down, even when no danger is present
People often describe it as a sense that they can’t relax, no matter what they try.
How It Affects Daily Life
The impact of hypervigilance goes far beyond discomfort.
- Relationships suffer when your guard is always up, and trust is hard to give
- Work and school become overwhelming because it’s hard to focus when your mind is hyperalert, scanning for danger
- Physical health declines over time. Chronic stress like this is linked to everything from heart disease to autoimmune issues
- Joy fades when your attention is pulled toward imagined threats instead of real, present-moment beauty
Living in a constant state of fear or anticipation robs you of your ability to feel safe in your own skin.
How Healing Begins
The good news? Hypervigilance isn’t a life sentence. With time, the proper support, and consistent care, healing is possible.
Here are a few ways people begin to heal.
1. Work with a Trauma-Informed Therapist
Therapies such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic experiencing, and trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are evidence-based treatments that help recalibrate the nervous system.
If you’re curious about the goal of EMDR therapy, it’s to help reduce emotional disturbance from past trauma by targeting specific memories that still trigger fear, distress, or shame. EMDR works by activating both sides of the brain while you process these memories. Over time, your brain learns that these events are no longer dangerous, and your body stops reacting as if they are.
2. Learn Grounding Techniques
Simple grounding practices help shift attention back to the present moment. These might include:
- Deep breath work
- Body scans (noticing physical sensations from head to toe)
- Naming things you can see, hear, and feel
- Holding a warm drink or splashing cold water on your face
These small steps help bring your body and mind back into the present moment.
3. Build a Sense of Safety
Creating external safety helps your body begin to trust internal safety.
- Spend time in calming spaces (nature, cozy rooms, quiet corners)
- Surround yourself with people who feel safe
- Limit exposure to loud environments or overstimulating media when possible
The more your body experiences safety, the more it learns to let go.
4. Reconnect with Your Body
When you’ve lived in a state of chronic fight-or-flight, it can be hard to trust your own body. But gentle movement helps restore that trust.
- Try yoga, tai chi, or walking in nature
- Tune in to how your body feels without judgment
- Allow yourself to move slowly and intuitively
These practices not only support stress reduction but also help you feel more grounded in your own skin. If you’re curious about how body-based therapies can support this process, you might find this guide to somatic approaches for hypervigilance helpful.
5. Name and Reframe Your Beliefs
Hypervigilance often goes hand-in-hand with negative cognition — deep, often unconscious beliefs like “I’m not safe” or “I can’t trust anyone.”
In EMDR and other therapies, one part of the treatment process involves replacing those beliefs with positive cognition — truths you want to believe, like “I am safe now” or “I can trust myself.”
When you revisit a traumatic event or target memory during therapy, your therapist might assess your SUD (Subjective Units of Disturbance) — how much distress you feel — and VOC (Validity of Cognition) — how true your new belief feels. Over time, you’ll move from emotional distress toward well-being, and no longer live in a world where you feel constantly on edge.
A Gentle Reminder
Healing from hypervigilance doesn’t mean you’ll never be alert again. It means you can distinguish between a real threat and an old echo. It means you get to feel safe in moments that used to trigger fear.
You get to rest. To enjoy. To let your shoulders drop and your breath deepen. To be here, fully, freely, and without scanning for the next danger.
If you’re ready to take that first step toward healing, Firefly Therapy Austin is here to help. Our compassionate therapists can walk alongside you as you move from high alert to deep, grounded calm.
In June 2025, we’re talking about hypervigilance
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Somatic Approaches for Hypervigilance → June 13, 2025