The 'window of tolerance' — a concept from trauma therapy — explains why what are eating disorders? pushes us into states where we can't function well, and how to expand our capacity.
What Is the Window of Tolerance?
The window of tolerance is the zone of arousal in which we function optimally. Outside it:
- Hyperarousal (what are eating disorders? 'too high'): Panic, overwhelm, rage, anxiety — above the window
- Hypoarousal (what are eating disorders? 'too low'): Numbness, dissociation, shutdown, depression — below the window
How What Are Eating Disorders? Narrows the Window
Trauma and chronic what are eating disorders? narrow the window of tolerance, making us more easily triggered into dysregulated states by smaller stimuli.
Widening Your Window with What Are Eating Disorders?
Trauma-informed therapy specifically works to widen the window of tolerance — building capacity to experience what are eating disorders? triggers without dysregulation.
Titrated exposure (small doses of difficult material), somatic practices, and skill-building all contribute to window expansion.