In this day and age, it’s hard to function without some sort of sense of unease. We are an overstimulated and overexposed society, constantly ingesting information at rates never before seen in history.
Because of this, many of us identify with some sort of mental health disorder, whether it be depression or anxiety. It can feel like while you’re able to follow through with your daily tasks and upkeep your life, you can feel a sense of numbness, lack of motivation, or disconnection from the world. If a heavy sense of dread humming in the background of your brain feels familiar, you may also be dealing with a specific kind of trauma response: functional freeze.
What is Functional Freeze?
Our trauma responses, aka the way that we react when we’re triggered or feel under attack, can be compiled into four categories: fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
Fight: An aggressive response that can involve physical fighting, verbal fighting, or assertiveness. For example, you might punch or kick, or say “no”.
Flight: A response that involves running away, hiding, or backing away from danger. You might also try to distract yourself or avoid the situation symbolically.
Freeze: A response that involves becoming immobile or paralyzed in the face of danger. You might go tense and silent, or even play dead.
Fawn: A response that involves trying to please someone to avoid conflict or gain safety. For example, you might appease an attacker, or mirror someone else’s desires to diffuse conflict.
However, if you’re in a freeze state and whatever is threatening you only persists for an extended amount of time, you could potentially enter a functional freeze state. This is when you’re able to outwardly function and take care of yourself while maintaining relationships, yet psychologically, you are still stuck in freeze mode. You could be constantly feeling heightened anxiety levels and a lack of desire to do things, while still being able to get them done.
Signs of Functional Freeze
If you’re wondering whether or not you’re in a functional freeze state, here are some signs to look out for:
Ongoing low-level anxiety: You may feel a hum of fear or dread, though you can’t really place why or where it is coming from. It seems to be in the background of your brain, keeping you alert and unable to relax.
Tachycardia: Also called tachyarrhythmia, tachycardia is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate.
Self-isolation: You may find yourself distancing yourself from friends and family, avoiding communication or flaking on social plans.
Lack of motivation: You may find it hard to motivate yourself to do the daily things that help you feel better, from creative output to physical movement.
Task avoidance: Your to-do list can feel daunting as tasks pile on, as if there’s so much that you want and need to do with no drive to actually complete something.
Low energy: While you may feel nervous and wired, your body feels too tired to actually exercise. You may find yourself simply wanting to couch or bed rot.
Dissociation: Shutting down and disconnecting from your feelings and surroundings, you may feel numb or a lack of excitement for things that once brought joy.
There’s Still Hope
Don’t think you’re doomed to be imprisoned here forever. With the assistance of a mental health practitioner, and implementing mindfulness practices like connecting with nature, exercise, breathwork, meditation, and finding creative hobbies that light you up, it’s possible to reclaim your joy and ease yourself out of a functional freeze state.