Hypervigilant

Hypervigilant definition is a state of being hyper-alert and on high alert for potential threats or danger. Hypervigilance behavior or characteristic associated with people who have experienced trauma. Also, those that suffer from anxiety or other mental health conditions.

People who are hypervigilant are constantly on guard and prone to overreaction. In short, they maintain an intense and sometimes obsessive awareness of their surroundings, frequently scanning for threats or routes of escape.

Hypervigilance is about more than just being extra vigilant. In effect, it is a state of extreme alertness that undermines the quality of life.

If you are hypervigilant, you are always looking for hidden dangers, both real and presumed. Because of this, hypervigilance can leave you exhausted while interfering with interpersonal relationships, work, and your ability to function on a day-to-day basis.

Causes of Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is often the result of a trauma. In reality, people who have been in combat, have survived abuse, or have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can exhibit hypervigilance.

In sum, PTSD can cause a wide variety of incidents. Some of these traumatic events include:

Firstly, living through a dangerous event
Experiencing a serious or frightening injury
Seeing another person get seriously hurt or die
Feeling horror or extreme fear
Experiencing trauma of any kind, and having no support afterward
Finally, living through multiple losses or traumas back-to-back‌

Hypervigilance Symptoms

This constant scanning and rescanning of their environment can make people who have hypervigilant ignore their family and friends around them. Often, they will overreact to loud sounds and bangs, unexpected noises, smells, etc. In the same fashion, they can get really agitated and irritated, (especially when in a crowded or noisy area as there is too much to ‘analyze’).

Hypervigilance can make safe situations, people and places feel threatening. In the same way, even familiar surroundings and people can be an issue as hypervigilance can make people acutely aware of subtle details normally ignored. Hence, body language, a person’s voice and tone, their mood, their expressions – all things which are continually assessed.

Some other common behaviors of being hypervigilant are:

Firstly, lack of objectivity – reading too much into situations
An over awareness of what people see or think about us
Perpetually scanning your environment to find threats (this can cause ‘Darting eyes’)
Fourthly, looking for others to betray constantly
Not being aware of what is obvious to others
Appearing jumpy, jittery, and unable to sit still
A reluctance to try new things or meet new people
In addition, unable to have conversations sometimes because you are distracted and unable to focus
The creation of obsessive patterns or obsessive avoidance of perceived threats (in extreme cases, a person may develop agoraphobia)
Additionally, constantly concerned about others
The mind tell us partial truths that we latch onto
Adrenaline-induced physiological symptoms: (dilated pupils, an increased heart rate, and elevated blood pressure)
Finally, Over scrutiny/analyzing behavior of situations

Many people with hypervigilance don’t see their reactions as intense, or unwarranted. Infact, they may feel their actions are necessary to maintain safety and security in the aftermath of a trauma. When being hypervigilant is getting in the way of them being able to do day-to-day activities, and live their life as they want to, it’s something that needs to be addressed as part of their PTSD.

Hypervigilance Examples

Hypervigilance can manifest uniquely in a person based on what their mind learned is dangerous in the past.

For example:

Someone locked up in a cramped room in childhood by their step-parents may get claustrophobic in small, enclosed areas.

Startling a war veteran may get them hypervigilant and cause them to hide under their bed when they hear a loud noise.

Someone who’s been a victim of a racial attack may feel uncomfortable in the presence of people of the same race as their abuser.

Hypervigilant people have a lower threshold for threat detection compared to average people, as shown in the chart below:Hypervigilance can manifest uniquely in a person based on what their mind learned is dangerous in the past.

Depending on the situation, hypervigilance can be either good or bad. Hypervigilant people often experience problems in their careers and relationships. They tend to overreact, seeing threats where there are none. Others feel they have to walk on eggshells around them.

At the same time, hypervigilance can be a superpower. Hypervigilant people can detect threats that ordinary people tend to miss.

Hyperstimulation Anxiety

Hyperstimulation anxiety, also known as sensory overload, refers to a state where an individual is experiencing an overwhelming of sensory input and feeling over-stimulated. To sum up, it often occurs in situations where there is an intense sensory input, such as loud noises, bright lights, crowded places, or multitasking with multiple high-demand tasks.

People experiencing hyperstimulation anxiety may feel overwhelmed, agitated, anxious, or even have a panic attack. All in all, other symptoms of hyperstimulation anxiety may include rapid breathing, muscle tension, increased heart rate, difficulty concentrating, or feeling emotionally dysregulated.

Another key point, hyperstimulation anxiety can be associated with a range of mental health conditions, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or anxiety disorders. As a result, treatment often involves identifying triggers that cause hyperstimulation anxiety, adopting coping mechanisms to reduce or eliminate the impact of triggers. Also,seeking professional help from a therapist or doctor if necessary. Techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation may also help to manage the symptoms of hyperstimulation anxiety.

Hypervigilant Treatment

The first step is to remove the affected person from an environment in which there is an actual threat (such as in cases of domestic violence) or from high-stress jobs in which the potential threat is real (like police work).

Altogether, treatment may involve psychotherapy, including mindfulness training and coping techniques, and pharmaceutical medications. Options include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy: The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is to teach you, through conversations with a therapist, that you cannot control every aspect of the world around you. Although, you can control how you interpret and deal with your response to an environment.

Exposure therapy: The aim of exposure therapy is to expose you to the triggers that stimulate stress in order to help you recognize them. Then take steps to mitigate your response.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Accordingly, the goal of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is to use eye movement as means to redirect you from traumatic memories of the past to current sensations of the present.

Mindfulness training: Basically, mindfulness involves “living in the moment” and focusing thoughts on immediate sensations rather than following extraneous and often problematic thoughts. In general, other mind-body techniques include meditation, guided imagery, and biofeedback.

Medications: PTSD and other anxiety disorders may be treated with antidepressants, beta-blockers, or anxiolytic drugs. But, schizophrenia, personality disorders, or bipolar disorder may be treated with antipsychotics or mood stabilizers.

Ultimately, as a symptom of an underlying disorder, being hypervigilant cannot be treated in isolation. As a result, it relies upon the appropriate treatment of the condition (including substance abuse). In some cases, hospitalization may be needed to bring the symptoms under control.

Hypervigilance Test

https://www.psychmechanics.com/hypervigilance-test

This test consists of 25 items on a 4-point scale ranging from Never to Very often. On the whole, it gives you an idea of your hypervigilance level. When you attempt the test, ensure you’ve not been in a threatening situation recently that may skew the results.

Conclusion

During episodes of overstimulation, people experience the sensations around them to a greater extent than they usually would. Therefore, this leads to physical symptoms that can be disruptive, including: Headaches, dizziness, or light-headedness. Feeling ill, faint, or nauseous. Increased anxiety and stress.

There are some things however, that can help reduce being hypervigilant in the meantime. You have to be mindful that reducing your symptoms of hypervigilance requires a lot of self-control and a conscious effort to identify things or incidences that provoke anxiety. It also shifts your focus away from such anxiety cues.

‘Additionally, hypervigilance can be a frightening and frustrating emotional state that makes you feel stressed and fearful in many situations. Remember, it produces flawed and distorted thoughts, and although they are convincing, they are wrong. Therefore, by believing in yourself and committing to professional mental health treatment, you can overcome being hypervigilant.’