Window of Tolerance

The arousal band where thinking and feeling can cooperate; outside it, you flip to fight, flight, fawn, or freeze.

Description

Work inside the window keeps Parts reachable. Too high: firefighters take over. Too low: numbness and collapse. You can widen the window with pacing, breath, movement, and co-regulation.

What Window of Tolerance is NOT:

Stoic flatness; “try harder”; a fixed trait.

Examples:

Pausing a trauma story to ground before continuing.
Standing up and walking while negotiating with a Part.
Shorter sessions that you can actually metabolize.

see also:

Titration; Co-regulation; Blending & Unblending; Protectors; Trailheads