War is not easy on the system. Are you feeling tired, unfocused, nervous and flooded at the same time? It is likely that you are suffering from hypervigilance.
Hypervigilance is a state of sustained alertness, where your system is constantly and vigilantly watching out for signs of danger.
It is a feeling of imminent threat activated by triggers of past experiences. Today, for example, the sound of an airplane or an ambulance might trigger a feeling of severe and immediate danger. Everything becomes suspicious.
Unfortunately, Israelis are actively working to increase this feeling of vigilance: They send out warnings, making you feel you are next. They tell you Lebanon will be the next Gaza. They speak of agents they want to target amongst you. This makes you look at any group of young men as potential danger.
When we are hypervigilant, our limbic system is constantly active, putting us on autopilot mode, with sensations beyond our control. This translates to:
- Severe exhaustion.
- Body numbness.
- Lack of focus and cognitive fatigue.
- No rest during sleep (the vigilant body cannot relax).
- Severe anxiety and potential panic attacks.
All in all, what you can only do, encouraged by Israeli warnings, is wait in panic mode for the hit around the corner.
Live your life as normally as possible. Resume your daily routines to trick your brain into a feeling of safety.
How do you reduce hypervigilance? It's a double strategy: Remain alert against danger but at the same time seek some normality in everyday life.
Here are few steps you can take:
1-Awareness and understanding: Be aware of your hypervigilance and understand its mechanism. Do not fight it stubbornly.
Accept hypervigilance as a normal body mechanism designed to protect you. Give it a name so you can familiarise yourself with it. Also understand other people's vigilance (spouse, children) and validate it. Do not judge!
2-Seeking normality: You do need to be careful as the war did not stop. At the same time, live your life as normally as possible. Resume your daily routines to trick your brain into a feeling of safety. Stick to familiar places and activities (familiar chair, bed, dish, etc). Normality is adverse to danger.
3-Sensation-based, mindful activity: Engage in sensation-based activities like cooking, music, handmade work, .. This advice keeps
coming in all posts because it is easily doable and it makes a difference. Tactility immerses you in the now, away from potential, future dangers.
4-Sleep therapy: Hypervigilance increases sleep disorder but lack of sleep also magnifies hypervigilance. To help you sleep better, increase the weight of your bed covers, touch your loved one or embrace a pillow, and have a de-stressing pre-sleep routine (e.g. read a familiar book, embroider, or watch a series you've seen already).
Stay safe, and resist the fear.
