Hypervigilance is derived from the Greek ‘hyper’, meaning ‘over’, and Latin ‘vigilantia’, meaning ‘wakefulness’. Hypervigilance is a mental state where a person scans their environment for potential threats. A hypervigilant person notices the slightest change in their environment and perceives it as a potential threat. Hypervigilance and anxiety go hand in hand. Anxiety stems from …
If you’ve ever experienced that sudden feeling that you’re going to die, you know how powerful that feeling is. It hits you like a brick and induces a sense of panic. Moments ago, you were going about your usual business. Suddenly, you’re thinking about your death and what will happen after you die. In this …
Crossing the legs in body language conveys two meanings: 1. Defensiveness Crossing legs, like crossing arms, is a subconscious attempt to protect one’s vital organs. In crossing one’s arms, one tries to protect the vital organs of the upper body, like the heart and lungs. In crossing legs, one tries to cover the genitals. Our …
To manipulate someone means to make them do something that’s not in their best interests. Manipulations always incur some cost on the manipulated and a benefit to the manipulator. Manipulation is different from influence. You can influence someone to do something that is in their best interests. For instance, a marketing campaign that influences you …
To furrow one’s eyebrows means to wrinkle them. Someone with furrowed eyebrows has visible lines on their forehead. The furrowing of eyebrows occurs when eyebrows are lowered, brought together, or raised. When eyebrows are in the neutral position, they don’t cause lines on the forehead. Eyebrow movement in humans is a robust social signaling system. …
As social species, humans are wired to get attached to other humans. We experience strong attachments to our genetic relatives, romantic partners, and friends. What does attachment mean? It means being emotionally attuned to, and invested in, someone. When you’re emotionally attuned to someone, you feel a bond with them. Their emotions affect your emotions. …
Trauma usually occurs in response to a seriously threatening event. Trauma is likely to happen when stress is intense or chronic, and a person cannot cope with that stress. Humans, like other animals, have three main responses to threats or stressful events: When we fight or take flight in response to a stressor, the event …
The purpose of emotions is to motivate us to take action. Therefore, you can use emotions if you want to make someone do something. Nothing drives human action like emotion. Emotional manipulation means using emotions to make someone do something that is not in their best interests but in the best interests of the manipulator. …
You’ve been in a good relationship for a while. The honeymoon phase is over, and the relationship has started to stabilize. While you may feel safe and secure with your partner, you may still face ups and downs in your relationship. During the downs, you’re likely to have doubts about the relationship. After all, the …
A trauma bond gets formed in abusive relationships. An abusive relationship is one where there’s a major power imbalance between the partners. The abusive partner exercises power control over the other partner- the victim of abuse. In a healthy relationship, the two partners have more or less equal power distribution. A trauma bond gets formed …