Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity accompanied by an exaggerated intensity of behaviors whose purpose is to detect threats. For example, a driver who has previously been involved in a car accident may devote so much attention to road conditions and other cars on the road, that he or she does not hear an accompanying passenger while driving. Hypervigilance is a state of anxiety that often (and quickly) leads to exhaustion.

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Simply put, hypervigilance is a way to describe a person in a state of fight-or-flight.

It is a symptom of a number of stress-related disorders. See for example :

• Post-traumatic stress disorder,
• Combat stress reaction,
• Urban survival syndrome,
• Mean World Syndrome

It is manifested in victims of domestic violence and stalking. It is also seen as an aspect of the psychological condition of codependence, and as needing treatment in victims of torture.