Let's get regulated: the window of tolerance
I talk a lot about being able to stay calm in the face of distress. That’s good and all… but how do we practically do this? A good place to start is to understand ‘regulation’ - this simply refers to the ability to remain in a calm & alert state without flipping into hyperarousal (e.g. fight/flight) or hypoarousal (e.g. freeze). I’m going to offer some more info on this & ways we can more effectively regulate ourselves over the next few weeks. When we are well regulated we feel ‘within our window of tolerance’ - in other words we can cope with whatever stressful situation pops up in that moment, without throwing us off balance or in a state of disarray. There are many factors that contribute towards our window becoming smaller & therefore more likely for us to respond to stress with overwhelm, including something as simple as the time of day the stress occurs! Some core areas impacting our ability to regulate are: how our body feels, our emotions, our environment & of c...