Contents of Article
“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the softness of your body love what it loves.”
Mary Oliver, from Wild Geese
What is the Window of Capacity?
Also referred to as the window of tolerance, our window of capacity describes the dynamic range of affective arousal – those emotional intensities we can experience – while still remaining connected:
- to our internal world (sensations, perceptions, interpretations),
- to the relational space (with others),
- and to our contextual environment (the world around us).
This window reflects the integrated functioning of our systems across time – systems shaped by early attachment experiences, patterns of co-regulation, and the cumulative imprint of stress and safety.
Our capacity is fluid. It expands in states of felt safety, and contracts in response to perceived threat. When something overwhelms our capacity to process, our system shifts into learned patterns of protection – expressions of survival.
These expressive responses may tend to move toward either:
- Mobilisation – hyperarousal states such as fight or flight, or
- Immobilisation – hypoarousal states such as freeze or collapse.
These are not signs of dysfunction, but of adaptation: attempts by our system to preserve integrity and coherence in the face of overwhelm.
Defining “Capacity” vs. Tolerance
- Shift the focus from simply tolerating difficult states (as in the “window of tolerance”) to experiencing and sensing what humans are truly able to hold moment-to-moment—physically, psychologically, and relationally.
- The goal isn’t just endurance but being present―connected internally, with others, and with the world—while maintaining coherence in context.
Identifying your Unique Capacity
Factors Shaping Our Window
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There are four key influences on your individual capacity:
- Influence – how the past affects the present (genetic or environmental shaping of thresholds)
- Sensitivity – the threshold for activation
- Intensity – the strength of emotional response
- Specificity – the personal meaning we attach to stimuli (e.g., safe vs. threatening)
Empowerment Through Capacity
- Rather than forcing our Self’s to remain in the window, we move toward acknowledging and accepting our current capacity and permission to pause when needed.
- This cultivates presence, integrative capacity, and attunement to one’s evolving needs and context.
Practical Cultivation Stratagies
- Together, connected to our felt sense of Self, we develop tools that foster embodied awareness of capacity and compassionate self-regulation.
- These practices aim to support our noticing the unique flows of energy and information across mind and body, and responding with “CARE” – Compassion, Attention, Reflection, and Embodied action – to re-enter the window of capacity.
An Invitation to CARE
More Information and Moments of Care
For more information and ways to explore your Window of Capacity please refer to my original article – HERE
Welcome, my name is Chele, I am a therapist primarily specialising in Trauma – specifically as it presents as Burnout and Breakdown. As a psychotherapist & PACFA & CCAA Clinical Counsellor I work individually with beautiful humans such as yourself who feel alone, lost, confused, & overwhelmed; those of you who are longing for something different.
As such, I offer my knowledge, skills, and inherent gifts with ears that listen to hear, and a heart open to receive who you are, no matter the suffering you bring; to support you in an exploration of how your past has impacted you and the ways that shows up presently. Together we will rediscover your hope and your sense of Self; we will reconnect you to what matters reclaiming the joy and delight in life you so deserve.
I welcome you to view my services or connect with me to explore how I can assist you in your journey.
