Functional Freeze: What is it, and how do we get out of it?
Have you ever found yourself in that weird state where you're functioning, doing all the things you need to do, but you feel totally disconnected? It’s like your body is doing the work, but your mind is stuck on autopilot. This is called a functional freeze.
The world is constantly buzzing with information, and for many of us, life has not slowed down to accommodate the increasing stressors around us. When we feel under-resourced and overwhelmed it is very easy to go through the motions of life and do our everyday tasks while feeling drained and disengaged. The body is present, but the mind has checked out.
This state is sometimes mistaken for depression. However, addressing these feelings from the perspective of low mood and persistent sadness doesn’t fully take the whole picture into account. When we experience ongoing stress without being able to manage it effectively, our bodies (more specifically our nervous systems) can go into a flight, fight, freeze or fawn state:
Fight: The "fight" response is a natural reaction to stress or threat where the body prepares to confront and overcome the danger.
Flight: The "flight" response is a survival instinct triggered by stress or danger, prompting the body to prepare for rapid escape.
Freeze: The "freeze" response is a physiological reaction to stress, where the body enters a state of immobility or reduced movement.
Fawn: The "fawn" response is a social and psychological reaction to stress, characterized by a strong desire to please or appease others, often at the expense of one's own needs.
According to most theories of trauma and stress, our bodies and nervous systems go into these automatic states as a way to protect us, and help us survive. But what happens when the stress doesn’t fully go away? If your response to stress falls into the “freeze” category, you might notice feeling like you’re in a “functional freeze.” We call it “functional” because its characterized by a capacity to continue on and function in your life, but still remain stressed, slow moving, disengaged and detached. Logically you might know that you’re safe, but physiologically your body may continue to experience lingering effects around feeling unsafe.
While it is helpful for our bodies to protect us, when it comes to functional freeze, it is okay to learn to move with more focus, ease, and engagement. To get out of the functional freeze state, acknowledging this experience and training your body to get moving again is an important next step. Part of this process includes taking small steps every day and reminding yourself that it's okay (and very normal) to feel discomfort while establishing a sense of safety, trust and security in your body and mind.
Three tips you can start practicing pull you out of a functional freeze state:
Move Your Body
According to author and psychologist Emily Nagowski, movement is an important part of closing the stress cycle, and letting your body know that you are safe. If you’ve ever seen a dog shake off an interaction, this is a similar process for us as humans. Go for a walk, dance to your favourite music, or simply shake out your arms and legs for a few minutes. All movement is good movement, so work at your own pace and ability.
Release Your Emotions
Uncomfortable emotions can become pent up, blocked and require some effort to release intentionally. You might be feeling numb or detached in a functional freeze state, so giving your emotions a kickstart can help you begin to feel, release and let go of stress in an adaptive way. Put on a tear-jerker movie and let the waterworks begin. Listen to music that evokes a strong memory or feeling, scream into a pillow, or write out your feelings in a private journal. It doesn’t matter what emotion is induced with this practice at first. The key is to practice activating your feeling side and ultimately getting curious about what might be coming up that needs to be processed. Finding creative ways to release any pent-up emotions can be very helpful with a functional freeze..
Try the Safety Location Exercise
This is a verbal exercise that you will say out loud that can ground you into the present and remind you that you are safe. Talking out loud creates a single lane of thought that focuses you and helps you to stay mindful in the moment.
I’ll share the exercise, and then I’ll provide an example.
Answer the following questions out loud:
What day of the week is it?
Can you describe the full date including the current year?
What time is it, and where are you?
Visualize or connect with something you can physically see in your environment that brings you joy or pleasant emotions and say the words “I am Safe.”
Here’s an example of what to say out loud:
Today is Monday, February 12th, 2024.
It is 3:45 pm.
I’m sitting in my home office in Calgary.
I am looking at my stuffed owl, which makes me smile because it reminds me of the fun I had when I used it as a prop to teach English to kids in China.
And I am safe.
Now it’s your turn.
Try practicing one or all these exercises daily if you’re noticing that a functional freeze response might be getting in the way of feeling present and connected in the face of ongoing stress. Staying consistent, non-judgmental, and open is an important part of this process. Remember that learning new skills takes time.
References
What is functional freeze? how to get over it?. Hindustan Times. (2023, November 12). https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/what-is-functional-freeze-how-to-get-over-it-101699765253694.html
Dana, D. 2018. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. W W Norton & Co.