Hypervigilance — a state of elevated threat detection that persists even in safe environments — is both a symptom and driver of online therapy.
What Hypervigilance Looks Like in Online Therapy
- Constantly scanning the environment for threats related to online therapy
- Interpreting ambiguous information as threatening
- Difficulty relaxing even when safe
- Exaggerated startle response
- Exhaustion from sustained threat monitoring
The Neurological Basis of Hypervigilance in Online Therapy
Hypervigilance in online therapy reflects an amygdala that has been conditioned to fire easily. This is adaptive in genuinely dangerous environments but becomes a online therapy driver in safe ones.
Reducing Hypervigilance in Online Therapy
- Safety signaling: Deliberately noticing evidence of safety in the environment
- Exposure: Gradual, safe exposure to online therapy triggers reduces amygdala reactivity over time
- Somatic practices: Body-based calming directly addresses the physiological component of hypervigilance
- Trauma therapy: When hypervigilance has trauma origins, trauma-focused therapy addresses roots