Hypo vigilant

[Ollie28]

I have been told one if the reasons im like I am is because I'm hypo vigilant,

What does that mean? How would that explain why I feel about 50% less intellegent than I did 9 months ago when this all started?


How does it mentally feel to be hypo vigilant and what sort of things should I be looking out for? I'm confused a lot of the time like now as my brain dosnt seem to work like it use to.

[MyNameIsTerry]

As far as I know it means you are always on alert for something to happen. This is a typical GAD behaviour, stuck in the fight or flight response. Thats how I've always seen it described.

[Lyn89]

It's hypervigilant. When I suffered bad anxiety it was the bane of my existence. Basically it's tuturning something normal into something abnormal and a source of anxiety by over thinking it. A good example is looking at a word for too long until it doesn't make sense anymore or looks weird to you. That's what a lot of people with anxiety do 24/7, only with their own issues. Mine was that I was hypervigilant looking for signs that I was going crazy or something was wrong with me. So anytime I felt groggy from oversleeping or something totally simple and normal, I would turn it into a sign of something being wrong with me. I was going mad, or I had a brain problem, you name it. So I'm turning the normal and non dangerous into the dangerous by over thinking it. See what I mean? So the more you tell yourself you feel the way you do, the more you will feel that way. That's the power of the mind and anxiety. If course adrenaline causes physical symptoms, but the more you think and worry about those symptoms, the worse they will be. I found cbt and distraction to be the best tools in combatting hypervigilance. When you are distracted and feel okay/normal again you realise anxiety is something you are just creating--it isn't real or a danger. Once you can truly see that, you're on your way to recovery. But even then it takes a long time. I hope you find the peace and rest you deserve, but hypervigilance is a nasty beast. It cannot hurt you or make you lose yourself though, even if it feels that way. You're overthinking-- that's all you're doing.

[ohwell123]

when I went through the intrusive thought anxiety I could walk in a room and note everything I could use as a weapon in seconds that was my hyper vigilants but my physc told me its actually my brain saying that's dangerous it needs putting away from kids cuz im actually a top bloke haha