The Escalation Cycle

 


Does this represent how you feel about someone at times, especially when their behavior is out of control?

I know my mom has felt this way towards me a few times. This image is a representation of what my mother was feeling when I was going through an escalation cycle.


The Escalation Cycle

The behavior escalation cycle is a cycle of behaviors witnessed during an escalation; which is often traumatic, chaotic, long, and tiring
 

The Calm Phase 

Otherwise known as the baseline. This is where the person is calm, responsive, goal-directed, able to work through problems, participating in active listening. The person is their average self and doing their typical routine in life 

The Trigger Phase

During which the person responds to a unwanted stimulus, such as sensory, lights, or memory, an issue from the past, based stimuli. 
    Mine are Extremely Spicy food for a sensory trigger and getting interrupted as a memory
    based trigger

The Agitation Phase 

During this phase the person engage in many, often contradictory, behaviors. These include darting eyes, fidgety hands, pace, stare off into space, lessen participation in conversation, and disengage from the situation, which is them returning to the calm phase.
    I would say I need a hug, but push people away who came towards me.

The Acceleration Phase

This is the phase when most people would recognize that the person is having a problem. During this phase the acting out behaviors, such as non-compliance, increase in frequency and there is a decrease in rational thought. 

The Peak Phase

 
This is the pinnacle of the cycle . This is when the person is clearly out of control. The person is experiencing high emotions and is dysregulation. Behaviors during this phase can include: physical violence, property destruction, self harm, and cry or scream hysterically. 
   
    I hyper-focus to the extreme when I am at peak. I don't do a lot of violence or property destruction when I am in peak anymore because of the skills I have picked up.

Side Note

To move out of the peak phase, the person might need external mode of control to help calm them down. This can be anything from extremes like restraints and medicine to distress tolerance boxes.

The De-Escalation Phase 

Once the person moves out of the peak phase they move into this phase. During this phase the person might be confused or disoriented, but often are responsive to directions. People in this phase might blame others or plea with those the person hurt. DO NOT talk to them about the peak or acceleration phase behavior when they are in this stage as they might retrigger and start at the trigger phase of the escalation cycle.
    
The Recovery Phase


This is the final phase, in which the person is subdued and displays almost baseline behavior. During this phase it is important to talk about incidents that occurred during the peak phase, even in the person does not want to talk about it, as not talking about it can reinforce the problematic behaviors. When a person in this phase they will not re-trigger talking about the behaviors displayed in the peak phase. 


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