Short answer:
Hypervigilance is a symptom associated with heightened awareness or alertness related to engaging in a stress response even in the absence of a stressor.
What is it like being in a hypervigilant state?
A person experiencing hypervigilance may find themselves feeling “hyper” aware or overly alert of their surroundings, scanning for threats and may experience physical stress symptoms such as, heart racing, sweating palms or increased breath. While our bodies engage in the stress response as a form of survival when in danger, hypervigilance is the experience of being “stuck” in the stress response even when there is no apparent danger.
What professions are susceptible to hypervigilance?
There are many professions that require the ability to survey for threats, have a heightened awareness or include exposure to firsthand and/or secondhand trauma. While these jobs themselves do not cause hypervigilance, the chronic exposure to being in these roles could lead to a carryover of being in this state outside of the workplace. Some of these professions include:
- First responders and law enforcement due to direct exposure to traumatic or dangerous situations.
- Military and Intelligence due to working in direct combat zones or threat analysis.
- Healthcare workers, especially in emergency room or crisis situations.
- Finance and Law professionals, especially those in high-risk financial roles (ex: bank tellers experiencing robberies) or roles representing or making judgement on high profile criminals.
- Content Moderators and IT due to exposure to graphic content or IT professionals in high stakes environments with cyber threats.
What common diagnosis includes hypervigilance?
There are several diagnoses where hypervigilance is a symptom. The most common include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety and Schizophrenia. These diagnoses tend to involve symptoms related to an overactive stress response. It is also important to note that in schizophrenia that involves psychotic features such as (paranoia or hallucinations), hypervigilance can become increased.
Other conditions that may also experience hypervigilance include, substance use disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or Dementia.
How can a therapist help me with this?
Managing hypervigilance includes techniques that support regulating your nervous system and treating any associated diagnoses. Common treatment modalities to support this include, cognitive behavioral therapy to help support perception vs reality. EMDR and other somatic therapies are also helpful in helping to rewire the neural pathways and regulate the body’s stress response. If you have struggled with the experience of hypervigilance, therapy may be a helpful practice to help you become more grounded and manage this symptom.
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