Dempsey Fisher, LCSW RPT

The Window of Tolerance.
Credit : Lindsay Brahman.

We always stand a much better chance of staying on course if they pay close attention to our nervous system.

This is especially true for those with a history of trauma.

Learning about fight, flight, fawn, and freeze can be helpful, but learning how these responses manifest in our bodies is where the magic really starts.

When we understand how fight, flight, freeze, or fawn show up for us, we can develop an internal template to refer back to in moments where we are feeling a lot of (or beginning to shut down and feeling no emotion at all) that alerts us when it’s time take steps to soothe our and return to our window of tolerance.

No one has an innate ability to pause during a conflict and reflect “Gosh, I think I might be moving into a freeze response.”

Instead, this realization tends to be something we recognize as we reflect on an experience later.

Growing the capacity to check in with ourselves and notice, in the moment, when we are slipping into a response is one key to learning how to self-soothe, expand our , grow emotionally, and build .

That’s where my new comes in: it’s a tool specifically for helping us recognize when we are moving out of our window of tolerance (where we can listen, learn, and respond thoughtfully) and into a reaction state.

Like the Emotion Sensation Wheel, the Fight, Flight, & Freeze Embodied Wheel is a tool to prompt conversations and build awareness by showing how each of these responses *tends* to show up through physical sensations.

It's not prescriptive- it's a conversation starter. It's meant to teach, to stir, and to prompt conversations that build awareness, connection, and experience through awareness.

Download a digital copy of this art via Lindsay Brahman's website

Wild Peace for Parents 💗

We can get so focused on getting this parenting thing right, we can lose sight of what is important. You don't have to get it right all the time. Nobody does. When we get down on ourselves, we are at risk of parental burnout.

I have written a course to help parents recover and restore from parental burnout. In this course you will learn how our expectations of out children, ourselves and partners contribute to burnout. You will find how to identify your triggers and how to manage them. Then we go through how to restore and use self-care at every stage of parenting.

This course includes 3 videos that are approx. 30 min each. Plus worksheets and handouts with tools you can use at home.

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com

Link in bio

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When you let your child experience emotions, feel understood, and build connection…
That’s not just parenting—it’s emotional coaching.
Letting them feel all their feelings doesn't make them weak. It makes them resilient.
This is how trust grows. This is how connection deepens.

Want to learn how to do this with confidence?
More information in my book Guidance from The Therapist Parent—available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and on Amazon.