heightened state
Amplified awareness level
A heightened state is a condition of intensified awareness, emotion, or physiological arousal.
The phrase appears in contexts ranging from meditation to anxiety: In a heightened state of alertness, she noticed every sound.
Athletes, performers, and people facing danger often describe entering a heightened state where senses sharpen and time seems to slow.
- arousedAwakened or excited
- alertWarning or watchfulness
- vigilantKeenly aware of danger
- on edgeTense and anxious
- fight or flightThreat-triggered physiological state
intense · euphoric · adrenaline · rush · fever · fever pitch · pitch · acute · elevated · charged · electric · wired · buzzing · hyper · amped up · manic · frenzy · ecstatic
heightened stateapathy
Absence of feeling
numbness · flat affect · flatness · emotional numbness · indifference
heightened stateresting state
Inactive default condition
equilibrium · homeostasis · neutral state · steady state · ground state
heighten, heightened, heightening, heightens, height, heights, high, higher, highest