Why Higher Mold Scores Didn’t Automatically Mean More Danger
Learning to separate intensity on paper from how my body actually responded.
The first time I saw a higher mold score, I felt it immediately in my body.
My chest tightened before I had even finished reading the report.
I assumed higher numbers meant higher danger, without stopping to ask what the score was actually showing.
“It felt like the number itself was a warning.”
This didn’t mean the score was meaningless.
It meant I was equating size with threat before understanding context.
Why bigger numbers feel more alarming
Higher numbers look urgent.
When you’re already trying to protect yourself, it’s natural to read magnitude as danger.
“My nervous system reacted before interpretation had a chance.”
I didn’t realize yet how easily numbers can trigger threat perception.
Especially when I was still treating mold tests like pass-or-fail outcomes.
This pattern was something I had already begun to unravel in why mold tests aren’t pass or fail.
What higher mold scores are actually reflecting
Higher scores often reflect accumulation and history.
They describe what has been present over time, not how a space feels in a single moment.
“The score was describing exposure history, not predicting harm.”
This helped me understand why a higher score didn’t always line up with how my body felt day to day.
The number was environmental information, not a direct measure of my capacity.
This distinction became clearer after learning what ERMI scores are actually showing — and what they aren’t — which I explore in what ERMI scores are actually showing.
Why danger isn’t defined by score alone
Two spaces can have very different scores and feel very similar.
And two people can react very differently in the same environment.
“The score couldn’t account for how regulated or overwhelmed my body already was.”
I noticed that when my nervous system was calmer, higher numbers felt less threatening.
The data didn’t change — my capacity did.
I had already seen how timing and context shape interpretation in what ERMI results can show over time.
What shifted when I stopped equating size with severity
The shift came when I stopped asking whether the score was high or low.
I started asking what it represented and how it fit into the larger picture.
“A higher number didn’t mean I was in more danger — it meant I needed more context.”
This didn’t minimize the information.
It made it usable.
The score stopped feeling like a warning and started feeling like data.