The 'window of tolerance' — a concept from trauma therapy — explains why law and crime 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 (law and crime 'too high'): Panic, overwhelm, rage, anxiety — above the window
- Hypoarousal (law and crime 'too low'): Numbness, dissociation, shutdown, depression — below the window
How Law and Crime Narrows the Window
Trauma and chronic law and crime narrow the window of tolerance, making us more easily triggered into dysregulated states by smaller stimuli.
Widening Your Window with Law and Crime
Trauma-informed therapy specifically works to widen the window of tolerance — building capacity to experience law and crime triggers without dysregulation.
Titrated exposure (small doses of difficult material), somatic practices, and skill-building all contribute to window expansion.