Hypervigilance
Etymology
From Greek "hyper" (over or excessive) joined to Latin "vigilantia" (watchfulness), from "vigil" (awake). It is a modern clinical compound, prominent in the study of post-traumatic stress and anxiety, where the threat-detection system fails to stand down.
noun · /hy-per-VIJ-ih-lance/
A heightened, exhausting state of constantly scanning for threat, with the nervous system stuck on high alert.
What it names
A precise name for the wired, on-guard condition — jumping at sounds, reading danger into neutral faces — that follows trauma or chronic stress, distinguishing it from ordinary caution or attentiveness.
Example
Months after the burglary he was still in hypervigilance, checking the locks four times and startling at every creak.
Related idea
More than heightened equanimity’s opposite; hypervigilance is a physiological threat state, whereas ordinary vigilance is a chosen, sustainable attentiveness you can switch off.