Scroll down or click to read: 1. Why does hypoarousal happen? 1.2 Hypoarousal Info-graph 2. Emotional symptoms, 3. Physical symptoms, 4. How to deal with hypoarousal.
1️⃣ Why does hypoarousal happen?
When you have gone so many rounds in the psychological boxing ring. Your body and brain brain:
▶️ Are running low on the stress chemical, cortisol stocks due to over demand.
▶️ or deal with the pain and emotional distress anymore.
1️⃣.2️⃣ Hypoarousal Info-graph
2️⃣ Emotional Symptoms of Hypoarousal
Hypoarousal responses are ones that cause little to no movement or actions such as:
▶️ dissociation, feeling disconnected from yourself and others and all the avoidance behaviours.
▶️ Freeze,
▶️ poor concentration and memory recall
▶️ numb/ on auto pilot.
3️⃣ Physical Symptoms of hypoarousal.
To cope our body and brain shut down. This is sometimes called dissociating. This ‘off’ state is associated with:
▶️ exhaustion,
▶️ feeling low in mood,
▶️ feeling irritable,
▶️ no motivation
▶️ You may want to sleep all the time as you are tired
▶️ You may notice changes to your appetite and digestion.
4️⃣ How to deal with hypoarousal
▶️ Be kind to yourself. You have been through a lot and beating yourself up is just going to use up more of your limited supply of stress chemicals.
▶️ Its a cliche, but good food really does heal. So try the 80/20 rule. Where you eat healthy and nourishing foods 80% of the time and treat yourself 20% of the time.
▶️ Try:
⏯ yoga,
⏯ sound therapy,
⏯ meditation,
⏯ visualisations,
⏯ tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques).
▶️ Walk in nature, hug a tree, listen to your favourite tunes, pick up an old hobby
▶️ Do anything that makes you happy but is not destructive to you.
