Why You Can’t See Clearly When You’re Stressed (Even When It’s Right In Front of You)
Many years ago, I was running late to a doctor’s appointment at a large hospital. I had that pit-in-your-stomach urgency. Sweaty palms, mind racing, full-body tension.
I drove in circles, scanning every lot I could find, weaving through row after row like a woman on a mission. There was no parking in sight. Panic started to creep in. Eventually, I gave up, parked blocks away, and power-walked my way across campus like a human pressure cooker.
When I finally approached the front doors of the hospital, I looked up and saw a massive sign right above my head that read:
“Parking Garage —>”
The parking garage was right next to the front door. Huge. Obvious. Clearly marked. And yet, I had completely missed it.
How Could I Not See Something So Obvious?
Turns out, it wasn’t just a fluke. It was biology.
When we’re in a heightened state of stress, our brains shift into survival mode. The part of the brain responsible for clear thinking, planning, and logic — the prefrontal cortex — becomes less active. In its place, the limbic system takes over. That’s the part of your brain that handles fear and emotional response.
Under stress, your field of vision and your ability to perceive options actually narrows. This is called attentional tunneling. Your brain begins to filter out anything that doesn’t seem urgent or threatening. It wants to survive, not problem-solve.
So What’s the Takeaway?
That parking garage has become a metaphor I return to often.
How many times in our lives do we miss what’s right in front of us? A moment of beauty. An offer of support. A solution. A breath. All because we’re stuck in urgency.
Stress doesn't just make us feel bad. It warps our vision. It shrinks our awareness. It keeps us running when what we need is usually much closer than we think.
Healing, in many ways, is about helping the nervous system feel safe enough to pause. To slow down. To look again.
If you’ve been walking past your own version of the parking garage, please know this:
You are not broken. You are not blind. You are just doing your best with a nervous system that’s trying to protect you.
When we learn how to soothe the overwhelm and reconnect with our inner steadiness,
we start seeing clearly again.
And often, we realize the thing we were searching for was there all along.
