Quick Orientation Screen
Use these five questions to sense your current position on the gradient — not to assign a permanent label.
The goal is orientation, not classification. You are not asking "What type of person am I?" — you are asking "What state is my system in right now?" This reframe changes everything.
How is safety experienced right now?
Notice what your body and mind tell you about feeling secure.
What happens when difference or change appears?
Consider how you respond when something unexpected arises.
Is the body available right now?
Check in with your physical sensations and presence.
How are close relationships experienced?
Think about your primary relationships right now.
When something goes wrong, what happens?
Recall a recent mistake or conflict.
Interpreting Your Results
This suggests the current dominant pattern. Remember: this is a state, not an identity. Your nervous system is organizing around this strategy right now, given current conditions.
The system may be transitioning — or operating in different patterns across different contexts. This is normal. The gradient is continuous.
Not "What's wrong with me?" — but "What is my nervous system trying to solve right now?" and "What would allow it to move?"
Explore Each Pattern
Safety-organized regulation supporting connection, reciprocity, and shared repair.
Threat-responsive regulation oriented toward protection, vigilance, and boundary defense.
Regulation under prolonged instability, characterized by strategy and calculated behavior.
Regulation organized around power-as-safety, where control replaces connection.