Sensitivity Threshold Model (STM)
Understanding Your Wellness Balance
A simple way to reflect on what is helping you stay steady — and what may be adding pressure
The Sensitivity Threshold Model, or STM, is a simple way to understand mental wellness balance.
It looks at two sides of your current state:
Available Reserves − Current Demands = Wellness Balance
When your available reserves are stronger than your current demands, you are more likely to feel steady, clear, and able to cope.
When your current demands become stronger than your available reserves, your balance may narrow. You may feel more stressed, reactive, foggy, overwhelmed, or stretched thin.
STM is not a diagnosis. It is a reflection tool that helps you notice patterns in your everyday life.
Responsiveness
How strongly things affect you
Responsiveness means how strongly your mind and body react to stress, noise, emotions, pressure, uncertainty, or change.
Some people are naturally more responsive. They may notice more, feel more, and react faster.
High Responsiveness can be a strength, but when demands are high, it can also make life feel heavier.
Learn more: Responsiveness
Personal Reserves
The support and capacity you have available
Personal Reserves are the resources that help you handle life.
These may include sleep, energy, routines, support, coping skills, quiet time, physical health, emotional stability, and a sense of control.
When reserves are strong, demands are easier to manage. When reserves are low, even normal tasks can feel harder.
Learn more: Personal Reserves
Life Demands
How much pressure you are carrying
Life Demands are the total pressures currently placed on your system.
This can include work, school, family, conflict, illness, poor sleep, financial stress, social pressure, sensory overload, or too many responsibilities at once.
Even small demands can add up.
Learn more: Life Demands
Clarity & Focus
How clear and organized your mental signal feels
Clarity & Focus describe how well your mind can sort information, stay organized, and focus on what matters.
When clarity is strong, it is easier to make decisions, communicate, plan, and stay grounded.
When clarity drops, life may feel foggy, scattered, noisy, or confusing.
Learn more: Clarity & Focus
How the Four Parts Work Together
STM compares your Current Demands with your Available Reserves.
Current Demands = Responsiveness × Life Demands
This means pressure feels heavier when life demands are high and your system is highly responsive.
Available Reserves = Personal Reserves × Clarity & Focus
This means your support system works better when you have enough reserves and your mind feels clear enough to use them.
So the full wellness balance idea is:
Wellness Balance = Personal Reserves × Clarity & Focus − Responsiveness × Life Demands
In everyday terms:
Your balance improves when your support, energy, and clarity are stronger than the pressure you are carrying.
Why this matters
STM helps you ask useful questions:
What is adding pressure right now?
What is helping me stay steady?
Am I becoming more reactive than usual?
Are my reserves getting low?
Is my clarity improving or becoming more foggy?
The goal is not to judge yourself. The goal is to notice patterns early, understand what may be changing, and reflect on what helps your balance widen again.
Explore the Four Reflection Areas
Start with any area that stands out to you:
Responsiveness — how strongly things affect you
Life Demands — how much pressure you are carrying
Personal Reserves — what support and capacity you have available
Clarity & Focus — how clear and organized your mental signal feels