Is Hypervigilance a common experience for everyone?

[Answered on Quora.com by Antonieta Contreras]

There are terms that are coined to describe specific dysfunctions or patterns of behavior associated with certain conditions, such as anxiety disorders or trauma.

Hyper-vigilance specifically refers to an exaggerated state of alertness where individuals are constantly scanning their environment for potential threats or dangers.

Sometimes these terms as used as generalizations, without adhering to the real meaning of the word and concept - but they shouldn’t. Hyper-vigilance is one of those terms that indicate a serious issue.

Being hyper-vigilant is dysfunctional because it implies a persistent focus on finding potential threats or reasons to be worried, consuming significant amounts of the brain’s energy budget. This allocation can hinder other important cognitive functions from operating optimally and may be damaging your overall well-being.

Therefore, the answer is NO, hyper-vigilance is not a common experience in healthy individuals. If it has become common for you, it suggests that your brain may be in survival mode or heading towards it, possibly due to experiencing something traumatic previously that you have not been able to resolve. If that’s the case, your brain is attempting to protect you from perceived danger that may not be happening. That’s very detrimental.

If you live in a hyper-vigilant state, it's crucial not just to cope but to actively find ways to regulate your nervous system and reduce the activation of brain centers that perceive threat or danger and are causing you to be hyper-vigilant. Otherwise, your system will keep working ineffectively due to keeping a state of being excessively alert, and at some point, you may develop symptoms and eventually, a mental disorder.