Hyper vs Hypo Arousal Explained by a Somatic Therapist
You know that feeling when your nervous system is like a smoke alarm that won't shut off?
Heart pounding, thoughts racing, jaw clenched so tight you could crack a walnut?
Yeah, that's one end of the spectrum.
And then there's the other side.
The days when you're so tired you can't even remember what it feels like to want something. When your body's here but you're... not really. Just sort of floating through, disconnected and numb.
These two states are hyperarousal and hypoarousal.
They’re two very different flavors of my body is trying to protect me, but honestly, this sucks.
To break it down simply, these 2 states are your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do when safety wasn’t guaranteed.
Let’s talk about what’s actually happening in your body.
Your Autonomic Nervous System… IE The World’s Most Overprotective Bodyguard
Think of your autonomic nervous system as the part of you that’s always working behind the scenes. It manages your heartbeat, breathing, digestion, all the things you don’t have to think about.
It has two main settings:
Sympathetic Nervous System: your gas pedal. It mobilizes you to fight, flee, or get things done.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: your brake pedal. It helps you rest, digest, and settle.
When things are working well, you move between these states naturally throughout the day. You wake up, get activated, do your thing, then ease back into rest. That flow is called nervous system regulation.
But trauma disrupts that rhythm.
Especially if you grew up in chaos, unpredictability, or emotional neglect. Your body learns that safety isn’t guaranteed. So the gas pedal can get stuck on (hyperarousal), or the brake can lock up (hypoarousal).
Sometimes you ping-pong between both, which is its own kind of exhaustion.
Hyperarousal: When Your Body Won’t Get Off High Alert
Hyperarousal happens when your body stays in fight or flight mode. Your sympathetic nervous system is convinced that danger is always nearby.
When you’re experiencing hyperarousal symptoms you might notice:
Thoughts that won’t quiet down, even when you’re trying to sleep
A tight chest, clenched jaw, or racing heart
Restlessness or the need to keep moving
Irritability or jumpiness
Trouble relaxing or feeling calm
Constantly scanning for potential threats
Hyperarousal can look like perfectionism, overworking, or people-pleasing, because your body learned that staying vigilant equals staying safe. It’s your system saying, “I can’t afford to rest. Something bad might happen if I’m not ready.”
Hypoarousal: When Your Body Says “Nope, I’m Out”
Hypoarousal is the opposite extreme. It’s the freeze or shutdown response, when your body decides that if it can’t fight or flee, the safest thing to do is stop.
Hypoarousal symptoms might feel like:
Numbness or disconnection from your body
Exhaustion that rest doesn’t fix
Hopelessness or emotional flatness
Brain fog or zoning out
Moving or speaking slowly
A sense of emptiness or not caring about anything
This is your body pulling the emergency brake. It’s saying, “This is too much. I need to conserve energy.”
A lot of people mistake hypoarousal for depression, and sometimes the two overlap. But this isn’t laziness or failure. It’s a protective state your system learned to use when things felt too big or too painful to process.
How trauma keeps you stuck in the loop
In a regulated nervous system, you move between activation and rest like a pendulum. Stress happens, you respond, then return to baseline.
But trauma teaches your body that safety (or ease) is unpredictable. It can feel dangerous to relax or impossible to get moving. Over time, your system loses its flexibility.
So instead of flowing between states, you get stuck, or you loop between them.
One day you’re anxious, wired, cleaning the house at 2 a.m. because sitting still feels impossible.
The next, you can’t get out of bed. You’re numb, scrolling, disconnected.
That’s not inconsistency. It’s nervous system dysregulation. Your body doing its best to navigate a world that never felt safe enough.
Finding Your Way Back to Your Window of Tolerance
The goal isn’t to stay calm all the time. It’s to build flexibility and widen your window of tolerance so your nervous system can handle life without tipping into panic or shutdown.
Here are some somatic practices to support regulation:
Ground through your senses. Name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear. It anchors you in the present moment.
Breathe with a longer exhale. Slow, extended exhales tell your vagus nerve that you’re safe enough to rest.
Add gentle movement. Stretch, sway, walk, or shake your hands. Movement helps discharge built-up activation.
Co-regulate with someone safe. Connection helps your body remember what safety feels like. Pets count too.
Practice self-touch. Place a hand on your heart or your belly. Feel the warmth and grounding of your own presence.
Getting started with somatic therapy, EMDR therapy, or any trauma-focused work, can help teach your nervous system that safety isn’t dangerous. You’re helping your body rediscover its natural rhythm of activation and rest (read more about how the window of tolerance helps you understand your nervous system’s limits here).
These nervous system states make perfect sense.
Whether you’re stuck in overdrive, shut down completely or somewhere in between, your body is not malfunctioning. It’s responding exactly the way it learned to respond when safety wasn’t consistent.
With time, support, and body-based healing, your system can learn something new: how to rest, connect, and trust that it’s safe enough to feel.
Healing isn’t about never getting triggered or somehow finding ways to stay calm, it’s about becoming flexible again.
It’s about helping your body move through life instead of staying trapped in survival mode.
If you’re ready for support to reprocess trauma that you’ve experienced, schedule a free consultation to get started with one of our trauma and EMDR therapists.
🧡,
Looking for an EMDR Therapist near more or a trauma therapist in Horsham, PA?
Reclaim Therapy is a specialized trauma therapy practice passionate about helping people reclaim their lives from trauma. We specialize in treating Complex PTSD, childhood trauma, disordered eating and toxic shame. Hoping to get started with a therapist who truly gets it?