Newbie. What Is Hypervigilence?

[whirleygurl]

Can you please do your best to explain to me just what hypervigilence is? I'm told I've got a major problem with it.

Also, how do you deal with it?

 

[Philippa]

My understanding of hyper vigilance is where you are always on the look out for potential threats in your environment. Constantly scanning every nook and cranny of a room for possible entrance points and vulnerabilities.

Maybe others can add to this...

 

[maddog]

Absolutely. If you think of vigilance as being attentive and aware of your surroundings, then hypervigilance takes that awareness and attentiveness to extreme and somewhat all-consuming or obsessive levels, whereby the constant monitoring of the environment for threats or dangers occurs at the expense of normal levels of arousal and can often become the sole focus of the sufferer's conscious attention.

Hypervigilance is a very common symptom of PTSD. I hope that whoever has diagnosed you will take the time to explain the condition and to answer some of your questions in relation to its symptoms so that you are able to feel more informed and in control of understanding your condition.

There's a lot of support here too of course, and many of us know the difficulty of struggling with hypervigilance, so you're far from alone.

Maddog

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Hypervigilance just plain stinks!

I'm not sure how to deal with it exactly....mine seems to lessen over time.

It helps if you are able to tell people to not sneak up on you. (I hope you don't have any of those jerks in your life who would take this as an opportunity to scare the crap out of you at any given time...lol, I'd learn to start swinging if that were the case!) But seriously, I've told my family and they know not to come up behind me, and they announce themselves from quite a distance so I'm not surprised at the last moment.

 

[Shellbell]

Sometimes you aren't even aware you do this.

Before the PTSD diagnosis, I always scanned the room, or environment, always needed to know where the exits were, always sat in a room with my back to a wall, didn't like having people behind me. And I now live the other side of the world to my abusers, and I still do it.

I've had to tell my son to not hide and then say 'boo' to me like kids often like to do.

My hypervigilance has worsened along with all the PTSD symptoms due to starting therapy. I think your brain senses talking about the 'bad stuff' as danger and puts you on 'danger alert' even more.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Hypervigilance is exhausting, isolating, and frightening to our loved ones.

Here's a thread - [DLMURL]https://www.ptsdforum.org/c/threads/analogy-my-hypervigilance-feels-like.17289/[/DLMURL]

 

[KatB]

Hypervigilance is exhausting, isolating, and frightening to our loved ones.

Here's a thread - [DLMURL]https://www.ptsdforum.org/c/threads/analogy-my-hypervigilance-feels-like.17289/[/DLMURL]

Speechless. Why couldn't i think of this?

 

[matthios]

To add to what others have said, I've found it's not just how it impacts my physical awareness, but my emotional one. I'm "on guard" in conversations and am always over-thinking (or so I'm told) people's statements analyzing them to see if they intend to hurt me.

 

[Shellbell]

Matthios - yes I do this all the time and didn't realise this came under the hypervigilance.

 

[matthios]

ShellBell, it's entirely possible that it "doesn't" to some clinicians, but I think it does (and my former therapist wholly agrees). I've always been an analytical person, but it kicked into high gear at the onset of ptsd. It's more than just a social anxiety issue.

 

[Shellbell]

Matthios - it makes total sense to me and I agree - it's all part of the 'detecting any possible danger' aspect of hypervigilance.

I've always had it, but mine has also become much worse since the onset of the severe PTSD symptoms.

 

[Philippa]

Yeah, I tend to do the same matthios, and shellbell.

I think it does lessen with time, but I still over think on many things, and I've been dissed for acting as though the world is out to get me. I don't mean to, but it tends to offend other people that I don't give them the benefit of the doubt enough and lack trust.

It's unfortunate, but my priority has become to avoid more hurt, and if that means being perceived as rude, then I have come to be ok with that. I wish it weren't that way though. I used to be the total opposite...too trusting.