What is hypervigilance?

if hypervigilance is chronic or severe, it’s usually a symptom of a mental health disorder.”

Hypervigilance is also strongly linked to childhood trauma. According to Dr. Albers, that has a lot to do with the fact that, as we grow up, our brain develops in a way that’s responsive to our environment.

She gives the example of a child growing up in an abusive home. “The child is immersed in an unpredictable environment,” she illustrates. “Maybe their parent is sometimes in a good mood and then — out of the blue — becomes enraged or violent. That child will learn how to pick up on very subtle clues because knowing what state their parent is in helps keep them safe.”

When it comes to person with a history of trauma, hypervigilance is about self-protection, about preventing a traumatic situation from happening again.

Examples of hypervigilance

Hypervigilant behavior looks different depending on who you are and its underlying cause. All of the following are potential examples of hypervigilant behavior:

Hyper-fixation on your surroundings

This kind of hypervigilance is especially common for people who’ve experienced violence — especially if they’re living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Perhaps they have to sit with their backs against the wall to ensure nobody can sneak up behind them. Maybe they have to sleep with the lights on. Perhaps they feel it necessary to have a weapon on hand at all times. They may also have a particularly strong startle reflex, jumping at the slightest noise or motion.

Hyper-fixation on the thoughts and feelings of the people around you

Dr. Albers says it’s common for a person who’s hypervigilant to watch the people around them diligently for slight changes in behavior, tone, cadence, body language, written communication or even sentence structure.

“These individuals tend to do a lot of overanalyzing of people’s moods and