Signs you are stuck in a freeze response

Sometimes we feel that we are away from the present. This can happen due to multiple reasons – be it stress for a long time or a trauma that we are not able to get over. "Maybe you've been under stress for so long and now suddenly you find yourself in this place of stuckness? Feeling flat, low, spacey and just plain blah. Maybe you've experienced trauma or an awful & overwhelming time lately and now you find yourself in this place. This makes sense. Your body and your nervous system are trying to protect you. And you can and will heal and move out of this," wrote Therapist Rebekah Ballagh as she explained how the body reacts when it is stuck in a freeze response.

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Here are the signs explained by the therapist:

Spacey: Sometimes we feel difficulty in thinking clearly. We also feel zoned out and brain fog. This is a classic example of the freeze response. In these cases, we feel disconnected from reality and miss out on chunks of conversations with people. This further creates distance between us and others.

Isolation: We like to be isolated from the crowd. We end up canceling plans and ditching crowded occasions to stay at home and spend time with ourselves instead. We do not like talking and engaging with the crowd anymore. We like silence and solitude.

Lack of motivation: Nothing motivates us anymore. We feel that we do not have the energy to carry on anymore and we are so close to giving up.

Low mood: We are always feeling low. We are our inner critic and the way we talk to ourselves is very harsh and full of guilt and shame. We end up feeling flat and nothing gives us joy anymore. This further creates tension in mind and we are not able to do our daily tasks properly.