The “Window of Tolerance”

The “Window of Tolerance” (Ogden, et al. (2006); Siegel, 1999) is the optimal zone of arousal where we are able to manage and thrive in everyday life.

This can be thought of as sailing within a river of well-being (Siegel & Bryson, 2012) where we are able to respond to all that comes our way without getting thrown off course.

When we are outside of our window of tolerance, our nervous system responds by going into survival mode – fight, flight or freeze.

We can either feel overwhelmed and go into hyper-arousal or we can shut down and go into hypo-arousal.

Our window of tolerance can be narrow or wide and is different for all people and at different times in our lives.
When we are able to widen our window of tolerance, we can enjoy more smooth sailing regardless of the waves, obstacles and adventures we encounter.