What to Know if You have Global High Participants in Your Groups
This article is for you if you value recognizing and accommodating the specific needs of vulnerable populations in your training programs and groups, and if you are not already explicitly aware of the presence and needs of a particular vulnerable group, people with “Global High” nervous systems.
Who are Global High people?
Global high people are a subset of people with Complex PTSD (C-PTSD.) Briefly, a person with a global high nervous system is someone who never feels safe, settled, or ok. In fact they are unable to feel safe, settled or ok. The kinds of practices that support people with more typical nervous systems to settle and begin to feel safe often don’t work for people with global high systems. These are not people lacking motivation or willingness. They are people whose bodies:
- don’t know how to feel safe or how to connect in a gentle and regulated way with themself or others
- do know that anything they try in an attempt to make it better doesn’t work at all or doesn’t reliably work, and they have tried a lot of things.
- know that it is inevitable that they will be misunderstood, and that it’s somewhere between possible and likely that they will be criticized or rejected.
Global high people might try hard but still feel like they can’t fit in, or they might not bother trying because it never works anyway. They don’t have a common stereotypical presentation, there are quite a range of ways they might show up. Some of your global high participants will show up as model students or model participants, exquisitely aligned with your program and agenda.
Also, while the person’s body knows the things I’ve listed above, their mind may or may not be aware that they don’t and can’t feel safe. One way of managing the existential problem of things not being ok on our bodies is to be so disconnected from our bodies that we don’t even know that things aren’t ok. When someone is disconnected from their body and stress and is unaware of how bad they feel underneath it all, they can appear incongruous or confusing, and they can feel challenging to be around. They might be overly intellectual, or they might be outright enthusiastic, but there may be an uncomfortable sense that something is “off”. As the global high person does their personal work over time, the incongruity lessens but the underlying stress and distress may persist for a long time.
I have written in more detail here about Global High Intensity Activation (GHIA)
Why should you care about the particular needs of the global high participants in your program?
There are many people in the world with global high nervous systems. It’s in the best interest of all of us for those people to realize they have permission to exist, just as they are, and for them to have good support toward being more fully alive and more fully connected with their gifts, their needs, and their essential selves. How they feel, how they are inside themselves and in their lives, has an impact on everyone around them.
By default, global high people will only attain a fraction of the potential benefit of any particular program, because so much of their energy and attention goes toward surviving and navigating both internal and external stimuli. Even though much of this is happening unconsciously, it still makes the person less fully available to engage and learn.
So, the first reason for you to care about the needs of this population is that doing so will increase their benefit and learning in your program.
If the group or program you are leading is designed to support the participants to do any sort of healing work in the world, either professionally or in their personal and social groups, then there is a second and even bigger reason to care about their needs. When global high people become proficient in healing modalities, they tend to be much better equipped than “internally ok enough” folks to meet the healing needs of the global high population out there in the world. We want these folks to be well supported in becoming proficient healers and community members for the sake of the larger population.
And the third reason sits at the intersection of the first two. If you design your program to be aware of and accommodate global high participants, there will be some spillover for your “internally ok enough” population. These more “normal” participants will gain some understanding and awareness of global high and will be better equipped to either effectively serve global high clients in the future or to identify those clients as outside their scope and refer them out appropriately.
Welcome everyone and do not call attention to their differences
It’s ok for someone to be different; you don’t need to understand their difference to welcome them.
My intention in this article is to support a shift in groups to be more welcoming and emotionally safer for global high people. That said, some of this content applies to anyone who is different. So, if you recognize yourself in this section that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are global high, but it might mean that you have had repeated experiences of being different and of not being able to settle into a group and be yourself because of people’s reactions to you and to your difference.
Different people are interesting to us.
When we see someone in a group who is different than the other members of the group, we tend to be interested and curious. If their difference feels uncomfortable to us, then we may be interested and also averse or even disgusted.
When we are in a group and something novel or interesting is happening, we tend to look to the leaders of the group to get some information on what the appropriate response is to the situation. So, when there is a group member who is clearly different in some way, the other members of the group will be watching the leader or leaders to see how those leaders are perceiving and responding to the different person. As a leader, you want your personal perception of the different person to be as near as possible to your perception of the other group members. It’s not that you don’t notice their difference, it’s that their difference is not significant, it’s not a big deal. Your whole presentation conveys that the person’s difference is not something that the other group members need to pay extra attention to.
If the difference requires some intervention, whether it’s that the person has a physical disability or injury and can’t get to the snack table or that the person asks lots of long and out of context questions, you want the intervention to be as minimalist as possible. Do what is required to have things be ok and as much as you can, make it not noticeable that you even did anything. Don’t call out the situation as a teachable moment for the group. Just manage it gently and respectfully.
If the difference does not require an intervention, then don’t bring it up. Don’t reference the difference either directly or indirectly. For example, if the person with a physical disability makes a suggestion about the position of the snack table, don’t say “Right, of course you would be interested in that.” That is publicly calling extra attention to their difference, which is exactly what we do not want to do.
Attention is not affection, or “Our intentions don’t matter if they don’t work.”
When calling out a person’s difference, you may be inwardly feeling genuine friendliness and affection toward them. Perhaps all of the other group members also feel friendly toward the different person. Even if that’s the case – and it often isn’t – the different person is likely to feel neither friended nor cared for by the attention you bring to their difference. I know that this is a very generalized statement. There might be some situations where specifically celebrating a person’s difference is appropriate and welcome. But I would surmise that in any of those situations, there is a solid and comfortable pre-existing relationship between the different person and the group or at least between the different person and the leader. If you are not completely confident that there is a solid and comfortable connection between you and the different person and that you have sufficient insight into their experience in relation to the group, please err on the side of not calling out their difference, regardless of your feelings and intentions.
Don’t think you understand what is inside a person based on the difference you see on the outside.
Global high people frequently display behaviors that are different than we expect. But the behaviors are different, person to person. Some global high people might repeatedly ask questions that are not quite on the topic. They might have several questions lined up all in a row. Some global high people might never volunteer to share, even in a small group. Some might share frequently, but their sharing is intellectual in a space where the invitation was to share a personally felt experience. Some global high people might seem really present with whatever is going on and then suddenly for what seems like the smallest of reasons, they might just get up and leave the room.
When people are different than we expect, we make up reasons why. It’s what we do. That doesn’t make us bad or uncaring. But in general, when we think we know something about a person just from interacting with them superficially or even deeply but for a short period of time, we are more often wrong than right. It’s like we think, “If I was acting like that, here’s what I would be thinking and feeling, so that person must be thinking and feeling those same things.” We might be attributing socially laudable or anti-social attributes to the person, but either way, we are probably wrong.
There have been many times when I’ve encountered someone who seemed similar to me. Something about who they were or what they had been through resonated with me. So I thought I understood that person. I thought they were like me. But I didn’t understand them. They weren’t like me. When you notice someone acting differently, if possible, don’t let yourself decide why they did what they did. And if you find yourself concluding something about them, try to question that conclusion and let yourself be curious and soft toward the whole thing.
One useful thought question here is this: “I wonder what is going on under the surface inside that person, that might relate to these behaviors that are different.” And even, “I wonder if there is a lot going on in that person, more than they can comfortably manage.”
Why things that seem like they ought to be simple and easy may not be simple and easy for a global high person
There is a lot going on under the surface
Inside global high people, there is a lot going on that needs to be constantly managed. The baseline level of stimulation and demand that they experience within their body and nervous system is already “too much,” even before anything happens outwardly or socially. In response to a global high person, we may have the urge to try various approaches to get them to chill out and relax and feel comfortable. If there are ice-breaking activities as part of the group gathering, the global high person might choose not to participate or might limit their participation. We may think, “If only they would give these experiences a chance, they would discover that it really does feel good to connect with people in this light, casual and friendly way.” Much of the time, that thought would be wrong.
“What’s so hard about introducing yourself as your favorite vegetable?”
Whatever activity we believe is straightforward and easy for “anyone” to do may be neither straightforward nor easy for the global high person. There can be various reasons and explanations for this. For some global high people, myself included, the body’s perception is that all other humans are threatening. The mere proximity of another person or the requirement to socially engage can feel like a huge demand. There are parts or mechanisms in the person that strongly want to shut down or run away, and the person needs to override or work around those forces every moment that they are interacting with or even every moment they are present with a person or group.
In some sense, the details of what is going on don’t matter. The point is that this person knows their inner landscape better than you do because they have been living inside their own body for a long time. They themself are the best person to assess and determine the level and style of participation that will bring them the best combination of not too much stress and maybe some good connection or joy or relative safety or maybe not. They know how to manage their inner experience, in part by managing their outer experience.
Welcomed, Included, Not Forced
The way to maximize the benefit that a global high person will receive from and in your group is to ensure that the person is welcomed, included and respected just as they are, without prodding, questioning, or second-guessing, and without trying to force or convince them to do anything that they don’t feel comfortable doing or to be in any way different than they are. And while it might feel counter-intuitive, this same approach will also increase the possibility of the global high person comfortably socially engaging with the group.
Vet your group content
Note that aside from consideration of how the person is related to, even the content that is presented in a group can have welcoming or adverse impacts on global high people (and other people with differences.)
You might want to review your spoken and written content to see if there is any content that will tend to cause global high participants to feel excluded, dismissed or not seen. Here are some things to screen for in your content.
Predictions or generalizations about the impact that ideas or experiences will have on people.
If there is an activity that participants tend to enjoy, instead of saying, “I know you will enjoy this!”, you can say, “Most people enjoy this, and whatever experience you have is ok!”
Instead of, “You will all understand these ideas better by the end of the talk,” you can say, “I’m hoping that by the end of the talk, you will understand these ideas.”
In general, try to use language that allows for the possibility that some people might not have the expected or typical experience.
Statements that assume a shared past experience
Making references to shared past experience can certainly help to build camaraderie in a group. However, while those members of the group that have a common reminiscence may be drawn closer by the reference, those members of the group that do not share that past experience are excluded and are aware of being excluded in those moments. I’m not suggesting that you avoid all pop cultural references or all references to possible shared past experience. However, please be aware that with respect to whatever shared experience you might refer to, even the experience of having a mother or the experience of enjoying sunsets, there may be people in your audience who did not have that particular experience, and for whom the mention of an experience they missed out on may be an unpleasant reminder.
In general, limit references to assumed shared past experiences, both in number and in the amount of time, energy and emotion that is included in any such a reference.
Stereotyping content or comments
This could be any content that states or implies that “‘This category of people’ tend to respond or behave in ‘this way’ in response to ‘this situation or stimulus.'” Obviously sometimes those statements make sense and are even necessary. In a 12 step group, there may be references to generalized behavior patterns of people with addictions. Note, though, that in that example, all of the members of the group fall into the specified category. In a group that consists of a broad cross section of people and where addiction is not a specified topic for the group, it would generally not be helpful to make generalized statements about people with addictions.
In general, unless there is a clear and important reason that such a statement is necessary, avoid making any declarations about categories of people, even if no one from the category is represented in your group.
The Value of Structured Social Engagement
These days it is common knowledge in my communities that social engagement is beneficial to people’s emotional and physical health. Social engagement has quite a positive effect on us when we feel relatively safe and when within that context, we are able to comfortably relate to other humans and/or animals. During gatherings or trainings, opportunities for social engagement enable participants to feel connected to other individuals in the group and thus to feel a greater sense of connection and belonging in the group overall. Both that sense of connection and the physiological effects of engaging the ventral vagal branch of the nervous system will then tend to cause the participants to focus better and retain more during the more cognitive portions of the program.
Note that interactions between the presenter and the group – such as Q&A or group discussions – will tend to have some of the same effects, but these are likely to leave some participants feeling disconnected.
While attention to the experience of connection and social engagement for the participants will tend to benefit all participants, those who are global high or neurodivergent or who have social anxiety will be even more affected. These participants, who are perhaps most in need of the experience of connection and community, are also the ones for whom it is most difficult to find that sense of relatively safe connection. Many groups build in open social time to provide for networking and social engagement. But for people who both need connection and find it uncomfortable or difficult, being in open unstructured social situations often doesn’t lead to their feeling connected. They might back off and not engage, or they might engage superficially in expected social behavior but not feel any sense of bonding or attunement with the people they are engaging with.
Some people who are not comfortable in unstructured social situations feel much more comfortable when social situations are structured. An example of this would be where the group is divided up into smaller groups of 3 to 8 people and within these small groups, people are invited to share about themselves and/or discuss a topic relevant to the group. These smaller group meetings could be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the overall schedule. Sometimes some of the key content can be delivered or key practicing or discussion can be done in these smaller groups.
Including small group structured social engagement opportunities can provide the chance for more of the participants to establish some safe and friendly interactions with others, which in turn causes them to feel safer and more connected within the larger group. Thus including well-formed structured social engagement can make a big difference to the overall tone and comfort level of the group and in particular for the global high and neurodivergent participants in the group.
Here are some considerations for setting up small group structured social engagement:
- Ensure that everyone is included in a group. If groups are self-selecting, monitor that process to ensure that no one is left awkwardly looking for a group to join.
- Ensure that everyone has the opportunity to speak and can opt out if they wish.
- Have a moderator who can gently intervene if one or two people are speaking at length and using up the majority of the group’s time, or who can gently moderate if conflict arises. Or if the group is only peers, with no moderator, provide instructions on how much time is invited for each person’s share.
- Offer a topic or prompt, but welcome sharing that is not on that topic if that’s what is present for a person.
- Model sharing that is authentic and a bit personal but not inappropriately personal, to invite real presence by the group members (rather than superficial commentary).
- The tone you want to set is that it is ok for each person to be who they are and to have the experience they are having.
Summary
The global high participants in your groups are interesting and complex humans who have a lot to offer. If your program is not intentionally designed to be safe and welcoming for these folks, most likely they are not feeling unnecessarily unsafe or uncomfortable in your group. Some thoughtful adjustments can increase the comfort and learning of these members and can support the comfort and learning of your entire group.
Thank you for considering these ideas. I welcome any suggestions or feedback on this content.