Goldilocks and the Three Arousal States: What's Happening When Your Body Reacts Like Your Boss is an Angry Bear

The front cover of a mini zine titled, "Goldilocks and the 3 Arousal States".

Our autonomic nervous system controls all the aspects of our bodies that we do not consciously control. It is always scanning for danger, often comparing the information received to memories. When the answer is safe, we stay calm, in the window of tolerance, and our nervous systems can prioritize things like social interaction, creativity, learning, and digestion. When the answer is danger, we enter either hyperarousal or hypoarousal, and our systems prioritize what will help us survive. We act from autonomic defenses: fight, flight, freeze, attach, or submit. Seth Porges explains more about how this all works in this video from Seth Porges about polyvagal theory. At the end of this blog I’ll tell you how to make your own mini-zine to help you learn more about your own arousal states. For now, let's learn more about arousal states.

Hyperarousal

Goldilocks and the Three Arousal States mini zine page 2-3. There are black and white stripes at the top. "The porridge is TOO HOT" describes a drawing of a person with pigtailed hair in disarray and a worried expression reacting to a bowl of flaming porridge. On the right page, HYPER-AROUSAL is hand-written in black sharpie at the top. An arrow pointing diagonally upward is on a field of black and white stripes. “Fight! Flight! Freeze! Attach! Submit!” and “Mobilization” are written. NOTE: I learned later that I should have left freeze off of this page.

In hyperarousal, we feel the need to take action. The most common autonomic defenses in hyperarousal are fight and flight; other defenses will usually be combined with these two. Our hearts are beating faster. Our breathing is rapid and high in the chest. Our facial expressions and voices are flatter, and our ear muscles change to prioritize predator and prey sounds.

Hypoarousal

Goldilocks and the Three Arousal States mini zine pages 4-5. The background is grey. “too cold” is written over a drawing of sad, sleepy Goldilocks with frozen porridge. The right page has the words, “HYPO-AROUSAL. dissociation, numbness, apathy. Immobilization.” An arrow points diagonally downward.

We transition into hypoarousal when our nervous systems determine that we are so unsafe that there is nothing we can do to avoid death but play dead. We dissociate and go into a freeze state. Freeze is most commonly associated with hypoarousal; attach and submit may also come into play. Our whole body slows down, and we might even sleep.

Optimal Arousal (Window of Tolerance)

mini zine pages 5-6. OPTIMAL AROUSAL. "just right" titles a drawing of goldilocks smiling over steaming porridge. "How wide is your window of tolerance?" is written along the fold. Qualities of this state are listed: calm, courage, curiosity, learning, clarity, creativity, compassion, social engagement.

When our nervous systems do not perceive danger, we are in the window of tolerance or optimal arousal state. We can be calm, curious, creative, compassionate, and connected to others. Emotions fit the situation, and we can choose how to act. We are able to socialize, learn, rest, and digest.

Sensory Processing Differences

How we process stimulation impacts how likely our nervous system is to detect danger. If we have a sensory processing sensitivity, we may become hyper- or hypoaroused in response to exceeding our optimal amount and kind of stimulation. We can also move toward hypoarousal in response to boredom when the stimulation level is too low. Everyone has a range or stimulation that is optimal and can lead to an optimal arousal state, and the ways that optimal arousal ranges differ is a way mammal nervous systems are diverse.

Complex Trauma

Internal or external reminders of traumatic experiences, often called triggers, can also shift our arousal states out of the window of tolerance. When we have a lot of trauma memories or did not learn from our caregivers how to regulate our autonomic nervous system, we often have a narrow window of tolerance and cycle between hyper- and hypoarousal. This cycling is sometimes diagnosed as bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), or borderline personality disorder. I prefer to see it as a survival strategy. If you’d like to learn more, books I’d recommend are Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma by Janina Fisher, PhD and Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana.

Make Your Own Arousal States Zine

One way to understand more about how you experience arousal states is to document how you feel in different states in a zine or journal entry.

1. Remember a time you were in each state while you are calm. It is helpful to start with hyperarousal, then hypoarousal, and end in window of tolerance. Think of a time you were in each state, and then answer the question: How can I tell I was in that state?

2. Record what you notice about each state with a body drawing and a list.

3. Use the information you find to make your own zine showing what each state is like for you. I’ve made some instruction photos below. If you prefer video, How to make a zine from one piece of printer paper can help, too.

First fold the paper three times so you can see where the pages are. Hold it portraitwise and fold down. Turn the folded paper portrait wise and fold again. Repeat once more.

Now that you have the folds, you can see where the pages will be. Use whatever media you like to create a visual representation of the arousal states and write down key signs of each state that you noticed. Sometimes it’s easier to create the content on a different page and cut and paste or tape it to the sheet. Then you can photocopy it to make a master. If you want to share the zine analog style, photocopy the master. (That’s how I made zines as a teen in the 90s.)

Fold in half portraitwise. Cut the tops of the inner pages (between 4 & 7 and 3 & 8) on the landscape fold so the middle four pages will be able to turn.

Refold to make your zine into a booklet. Turn the sheet landscapewise, and fold the entire sheet in half. Fold the middle pages so they make a square or diamond shape. Fold the covers so the pages are in order. Enjoy your zine!