August 28, 2024 – Daily Musing – Functional Freeze and Anxiety

Functional Freeze

Today I woke up at 4 in the morning and I was very anxious.  I put on my “Bedtime Relaxation” audio on my phone, and this put me back to sleep in no time.  I find this always does the trick.  It is narrated by Kathy Somers and she works at the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic at the University of Guelph.  I highly recommend this!  Go google her now!

I ended up sleeping in and had a very hard time getting started for the day.  I felt very depressed and felt frozen.  I made myself shower and get dressed and put makeup on.  I went for a walk.  I don’t normally walk this early in the morning, but I felt so frozen and depressed.  I hoped that the sunshine and exercise would help me.  It did help a little.  I was able to be a little productive today.

I am learning about functional freeze.  [i]It is when you can not do the activities that you either enjoy or need to do.  You are frozen.  It happens when you are burnt out or from trauma.  One suggestion is that you do “forest bathing” or being in nature.  I did go for a walk today which helped.  I also sat in my backyard and sipped tea.  I watched the leaves move to the wind and enjoyed the sight of my flowers.  I always enjoy watching chipmunks and squirrels.  The sun felt good against my skin, and I enjoyed the fresh air.  Other suggestions were sound bathing and laughter yoga.  Maybe I will watch a comedy show today.  Please read this article, the link is below in the end notes.

[i] A Psychologist Offers 3 Ways Out Of ‘Functional Freeze Mode’ (forbes.com)