The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a network in the brainstem that acts like a filter. Every second, it processes millions of bits of sensory data — but it only lets through what matches your current focus or beliefs.

If you’ve ever noticed a certain car model everywhere after thinking about it, or heard your name in a noisy room, that was your RAS at work. It’s like your brain’s personal search engine, prioritising what it thinks matters most.

When you’ve lived through trauma, that filter often becomes tuned to threat detection. Your brain becomes a danger radar — scanning for anything that could confirm “I’m not safe.”

My Story: When the RAS Saved My Life

Years of living in a violent, volatile environment gave my brain a lot of practice spotting danger. I became so finely tuned that I could sense risk before my eyes or ears gave me any obvious clues.

One day, while visiting a house in my professional role, something inside told me to be cautious. I didn’t yet know why. The feeling was almost other-worldly — as if I could sense something my eyes couldn’t yet see. As I approached a room, I realised someone was hiding behind the door — holding a kitchen knife. They were in crisis, believing they were under attack. My awareness meant I could respond calmly, keep my distance, and protect both of us.

This wasn’t the only time these instincts had protected me — it had happened on many occasions. But this was one example that made me stop and really question what was happening in those moments and why my brain seemed to know before I did.

In that moment, my RAS had picked up on subtle cues and changes in the environment before my conscious mind understood them. That skill had been honed over years of living in a dangerous home environment. It had kept me, and those I love, safe.

The Challenge After Danger Passes

Hypervigilance doesn’t switch off the day you find safety. Your RAS keeps scanning for danger, even when danger is no longer there.

Learning to live without that constant alertness takes time. You have to:

  • Process what happened and why
  • Understand your triggers and reactions
  • Learn to tell the difference between real threats and perceived ones
  • Practise responding in measured, appropriate ways

It’s hard, and it takes energy. But it’s possible.

Shifting the RAS From Danger to Opportunity

When safety returns, you can begin to retrain your RAS. Instead of searching for threats, you can teach it to notice moments of joy, gratitude, and possibility.

At A Positive Start CIC, we call this shift #seekjoy. The skill you developed in spotting danger doesn’t disappear — it changes purpose. You’re still perceptive and aware, but now your focus is aligned with growth, peace, and opportunity.

This transformation can begin the moment you set your intention toward good. That’s the plot twist we talk about in our Reconnect & Regulate workshop:

Energy flows where focus goes, and neural pathways grow.

How We Use This in Our Work

At A Positive Start CIC, understanding the Reticular Activating System isn’t just theory — it’s woven into everything we do. Every day, we apply it through our TRUST approach: Trigger Recognition, Reassurance, Understanding, Safety, Truth. This is our foundation for creating safety and helping the nervous system switch off its danger signals. We do this through congruence (being real and authentic), compassion, and empathic understanding — the conditions where the RAS can begin to retune from hypervigilance to a healthier balance.

We also weave this knowledge directly into our workshops. In Reconnect & Regulate, we explore the “plot twist” — how the same brain filter that once kept you safe can be trained to notice opportunities, joy, and purpose. In STAND: Parents as Protectors, we help parents understand how their own nervous system responses, shaped by life experience, can influence how they perceive and respond to risk. By building awareness and practical tools, we support both parents and individuals to re-train their RAS to seek safety, connection, and possibility.

Science Explainer: What the RAS Really Does

What It Is:

A network of nerve pathways in the brainstem (part of the reticular formation) that regulates arousal, attention, and the sleep–wake cycle.

Key Functions:

  • Filters sensory information and decides what reaches conscious awareness
  • Keeps the brain alert to relevant stimuli
  • Tunes attention based on repeated focus or strong emotion

Why It Matters:

The RAS strengthens whatever it’s trained to notice. Years of scanning for danger makes danger detection automatic. Repeated focus on safety and opportunity rewires the filter to notice those instead.

References:

📚 Further Reading

Final Thoughts…

Your RAS is always listening to what you focus on. The same filter that once kept you alive in danger can become your greatest ally in creating a life you love. When you choose to #seekjoy, you’re not ignoring your past — you’re rewriting the story your brain tells about your future.

Reconnect & Regulate starts again this September- 8 week program, Mondays 6pm -8pm.
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