Through a Threatened Lens: Negative Bias and the Nervous System

By Tim Aiello, MA, LPC, NCC, ADHD-CCSP, ASDCS

Clinical Director, Myndset Therapeutics

If you’re neurodivergent like me—living with ADHD, Autism, or both (AuDHD)—you might already know how quickly the world can go from neutral to too much.

One moment you’re fine, the next you’re snapping at someone for breathing too loudly or spiraling because someone changed the dinner plans. What often feels like emotional instability or “overreacting” is, more often than not, a neurobiological survival response. And at the heart of it? Negative bias—our brain’s tendency to interpret ambiguous or neutral information as negative or threatening.

What Is Negative Bias?

Negative bias is the human brain’s default tendency to register and remember negative stimuli more readily than positive ones. It evolved to keep us alive—think: better safe than sorry. But when your nervous system is stuck in chronic threat states, this bias can distort every sensation, interaction, or shift in routine into something unsafe or hostile (Rozin & Royzman, 2001).

For neurodivergent folks, who often live in a more activated autonomic state, this bias becomes amplified and ever-present. Our bodies and brains aren’t just reacting to “what’s happening”—we’re reacting to what our nervous system is predicting based on chronic dysregulation.

Polyvagal Theory: Understanding the States of the Nervous System

Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory (PVT) helps us understand how our autonomic nervous system interprets safety, danger, and life threat. It explains how we move between three primary states:

1. Ventral Vagal (Safe & Social): Regulated, connected, curious. Negative bias is low. We can interpret situations more accurately.

2. Sympathetic (Mobilization/Fight-Flight): Anxious, irritated, impulsive, or hyperactive. Negative bias is high—we scan for danger, see rejection in neutral faces, and may act preemptively to protect ourselves.

3. Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown/Freeze): Disconnected, numb, or hopeless. Here, the negative bias isn’t loud, it’s quietly devastating. We assume there’s no point, no safety, no way out (Porges, 2011; Dana, 2020).

   
   

Sensory Input as a Threat

In neurodivergent individuals, especially those with ADHD and Autism, our sensory systems are already heightened or miscalibrated. We might be hypersensitive to sound, light, touch—or undersensitive and constantly seeking more input to regulate. Now add in a nervous system that's stuck in a fight-or-flight loop, and every sensory experience can feel like an alarm bell.

• The hum of the fridge? Intrusive.

• Eye contact? Threatening.

• A change in routine? Danger.

• A casual "Can we talk later?"? Panic-inducing.

  
  

This is negative bias through a neuroception of threat—a term Porges uses to describe how our nervous system evaluates safety without conscious awareness (Porges, 2004).

For us, it means we don’t just “overreact.” We accurately react to what our nervous system has tagged as a threat—whether it logically makes sense or not.

Irritability, Edginess, and Misread Signals

Here’s how this plays out in daily life:

• You’re irritable with your partner over something small—because your sympathetic system has primed you for defense.

• You misread a coworker's neutral tone as condescending—because your dorsal state assumes defeat and rejection.

• You lash out or isolate—because your system doesn’t feel safe enough to pause or connect.

  
  

For neurodivergent people, especially AuDHD adults, these responses aren’t character flaws. They’re survival adaptations in a world that constantly overwhelms our nervous systems.

Rewiring the Threat Lens

So what do we do when our bodies are stuck in defense and every sound, smell, or social cue feels like a threat?

1. Track Your State (Not Just Your Mood):Use tools like a Nervous System Tracker to identify whether you’re in a ventral, sympathetic, or dorsal state. Tracking patterns helps us contextualize our reactions instead of blaming ourselves for them.

2. Co-Regulate First, Reflect Later:When you’re in defense, logic doesn’t land. Breathe, move, or engage in sensory regulation (cold water, heavy pressure, rhythmic movement). Then revisit the situation from a more regulated place.

3. Practice Neurodivergent-Affirming Strategies:

   • Create a low-stimulation environment at home.

   • Limit sensory overwhelm when possible (noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, dim lights).

   • Learn your personal sensory triggers and safety signals.

   • Validate your perception before challenging it—your body always has a reason.

4. Name the Bias:Practice saying: “My nervous system is reading this as danger, even if it’s not.” It builds self-awareness and opens the door to curiosity over criticism.

   
   

Final Thoughts

When our bodies stay stuck in survival mode, we see the world not as it is, but as it might hurt us. Understanding the role of negative bias within our Polyvagal states offers a radical shift in self-compassion—especially for neurodivergent adults.

We’re not broken. We’re patterned. And with awareness and the right supports, we can start to feel safe enough to re-pattern—moment by moment, breath by breath.

References:

• Dana, D. (2020). Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

• Porges, S. W. (2004). Neuroception: A subconscious system for detecting threats and safety. Zero to Three, 24(5), 19–24.

• Rozin, P., & Royzman, E. B. (2001). Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(4), 296–320.