Evidence: How Therapy Can Help With Hyperarousal

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Hyperarousal is synonymous with sympathetic arousal and is sometimes referred to as sympathetic activation or autonomic nervous system (ANS) hyperarousal. It plays a significant role in various psychological conditions commonly encountered in psychotherapy, such as anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, social anxiety disorder (SAD), burnout, and more.

Insights from neurophysiology and neuroscience provide evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt that the process of therapy and the skills we teach clients as part of therapeutic work offer an effective way to reduce and manage hyperarousal. This can either be a sufficient goal to achieve in therapy or serve as a prerequisite for further therapeutic work.

 

In this context, I focus on 'bottom-up' regulation, specifically addressing two key categories: co-regulation through therapy and the process of learning self-regulation of hyperarousal.

 

Below is a summary of some of the evidence supporting these claims.

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