Bandwidth
The emotional or mental capacity available for processing life. Not fixed; fluctuates based on stressors, rest, and sensory input.

Deep Feeler
A person who processes stimuli—emotional, sensory, relational—with unusual depth, intensity, and empathy.

Dissociation
A trauma response involving detachment from self, emotions, or the present moment. A protective disconnect, not a choice.

Emotional Contagion
The unconscious absorption of others' emotional states.

Fawn Response
A stress response involving people-pleasing, appeasing, or overcompensating to prevent conflict or harm.

Freeze Response
A biological survival state where speech, processing, and movement slow or halt to reduce perceived threat.

Hyper-Responsibility
The learned belief that one must anticipate, manage, or prevent others' emotional states.

Parentification
A childhood role reversal in which a child takes on adult emotional or practical responsibilities.

Projection
The psychological act of attributing one's own feelings, fears, or traits onto another person.

Shutdown
A whole-system collapse triggered by overload. Characterized by silence, withdrawal, numbness, or emotional absence.

Survival Patterns
Learned behaviors—freeze, fawn, overfunctioning—developed to navigate unsafe or unpredictable environments.

Trigger
A stimulus (sensory, emotional, relational) that activates past trauma or pushes the system beyond capacity.

Withdrawal
A retreat into silence or isolation, often for regulation and safety, not rejection.