What is Trauma-Related Hyperarousal?

Contents

Trauma-Related Hyperarousal

Normal stress and trauma-related hyperarousal both use the same body systems, but they differ in what sets them off, how long they last, and how much they interfere with life.

Normal stress

Normal stress is the body’s short-term response to everyday demands (deadlines, exams, conflicts). The “fight–flight” system switches on, then switches off again once the challenge is over. Typical features:

Has a clear, current cause (exam, busy day, argument).
Symptoms rise and then settle back to baseline with rest or problem‑solving.
You can still think, plan, and use coping skills, even if you feel pressured.
It usually doesn’t seriously distort how safe you feel in general.

This system is adaptive: it helps you focus, act, and then recover.

Hyperarousal in trauma (e.g. PTSD/complex PTSD) is when the threat system gets “stuck on high.”

Key differences:

Trigger vs. current problem: Reactions are often set off by triggers (reminders of past threat: sounds, places, smells, body sensations), not just current demands.

Baseline always high: You feel “always on guard”: jumpy, tense, scanning for danger even in objectively safe situations.

Slow to settle: Once stirred up, it can take a long time to calm down. Sleep, concentration, and relaxation are often disrupted.

Sense of danger and loss of control: The body reacts “as if” the past trauma is happening again now. People often describe feeling unsafe, out of control, or about to explode/shut down, even when nothing obvious is wrong.

In simple terms: normal stress is a temporary rise and fall in response to life’s pressures; trauma-related hyperarousal is a chronically raised threat setting, easily pushed into overdrive by triggers tied to past danger.