Constriction
Constriction
Constriction, tension, and tightening are system-wide phenomena. It dominates our earliest experience of a threat, essentially effecting every function of the body.
Constriction alters someone’s breathing, muscle tone, and posture. Blood vessels in the skin, extremities, and guts constrict so that more blood is available to the muscles which are tensed and prepared to take defensive action.
Perceptual awareness of the environment also constricts so that our full attention is directed toward the threat. This is a form of hyper-vigilance.
When constriction fails to sufficiently focus the organism’s energy to defend itself, the nervous system evokes other mechanisms (freezing & dissociation) to contain the arousal.