Dealing with the Overwhelm: Chronic Freeze and Depression

It’s all about the nervous system

Depression can feel like a rock sitting on our chest, suffocating the life out of us. We feel sluggish with no energy. Even the smallest activity can feel overwhelming. We just want to lay in bed all the time with the shades closed. Life becomes too much to handle. Our nervous system is in a state of collapse.

Our nervous system has three states. Two of these states are more familiar to most people: parasympathetic and sympathetic. Parasympathetic is our relaxed, social state, the state where we should ideally be most of the time. The sympathetic state is our alert state. We are most often familiar with the sympathetic state by its response to danger, otherwise known as the fight or flight response. This is when our body goes on high alert, flooding us with adrenaline and priming us to deal with the situation either by fighting or running away. While we often experience fear in this state, this is also the state where we feel most alive. But all that adrenaline can take its toll, leaving us feeling depleted afterward. If we are consistently in a state of fight or flight, it will eventually drain all our energy reserves and send us into a state of collapse. This is called the Chronic Freeze state, the last state of the nervous system, where our body is operating at minimal capacity in order to conserve energy. This state is often accompanied by depression.

Chronic freeze looks like emotional numbness accompanied by chronic exhaustion. We are too tired to care about anything. We are operating at our lowest level, our baseline survival mode. We are just trying to get through the day and when chronic freeze is at its worse, we can’t even do that. Our nervous system is in a state of full collapse.

Interestingly, while we may see chronic freeze as a sign of illness, it is actually a protective state. We cannot sustain being in a state of high adrenaline all the time. That state of high adrenaline may look like trauma or it may just be pushing ourselves past the point of burnout, whether that be through work or partying or exercise or even just not giving our bodies the nutrients it needs and relying on sugar and caffeine for fuel. The state of sympathetic overdrive will eventually burn us out, destroying our organs, and could even cause severe illness or death. So, our nervous system enforces a mandated rest by going into chronic freeze. This may look like depression or brain fog or even a form of chronic illness (think Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia).

How can you ease out of Chronic Freeze? The most important step is to take things slowly. Doing too much too fast can send you back into Chronic Freeze and possibly make things worse. You need to gently support your nervous system. One of the most effective ways is by doing somatic work. Somatic work involves doing a series of exercises to support your nervous system and create a sense of safety in your body. These involve grounding (letting your feet be rooted into the ground and feeling a sense of support coming from the earth), orienting (this can involve visually checking your space to create a sense of safety or connecting your senses to things around you i.e. what can you feel? what can you taste? what can you see, hear, etc? to bring you back to the present moment. This can be very helpful with PTSD), containment (which is basically a self-hug), and other exercises. If you are not familiar with these exercises, it is highly recommended that you find a Somatic Experiencing Therapist or do a course with a qualified practitioner to help guide you through this. Breathwork can also be extremely beneficial but find a qualified practitioner who understands Chronic Freeze to help you. Remember the rule of thumb is to be gentle and go slow. Trying to go too fast will backfire.

The other way to support your nervous system out of Chronic Freeze is to support your energy levels. This involves nutrition and lifestyle. Don’t make drastic changes but pick certain things you can do. The general rule, especially when it comes to nutrition, is to add before you subtract. If you are a coffee addict, instead of trying to cut back on the caffeine, start drinking a glass of water every time you have a cup of coffee. Make a point of having vegetables at every meal or try a new vegetable every week. Focus on eating the rainbow. Instead of cutting out carbs, add in healthy fats. If you need help, get a qualified nutritionist to guide you.

With lifestyle, make small changes. Try getting 20 minutes more sleep per night until you are regularly sleeping between 7–8 hours a night. Cut out screen time at night or wear blue-light blocking glasses. Don’t try to push yourself with intense exercise. Aim for a short walk outside if possible or gentle stretching. Use your body as a guide and track your results. If something makes you feel worse, pause it until you are ready. This is not the time for an intense detox or a heavy-duty exercise program. Keep taking small steps.

Be aware that while you are moving out of Chronic Freeze, you may feel an increase in anxiety or sadness or other negative emotions. This is normal. Chronic Freeze is the nervous system’s last resort after being overwhelmed by Sympathetic Overdrive or Fight or Flight. In order to move back into the Parasympathetic state, you first have to move into the Sympathetics. Hopefully, moving back into the Sympathetic state will be less intense than your previous experience. It is recommended to have someone to guide you through this process. Look for a therapist or a trauma-informed practitioner (who could be of any specialty ie. nutritionist, health coach, Functional Medicine practitioner, etc) to provide guidance and support, especially if you are dealing with a chronic illness. With patience and support, you can move back into the parasympathetic state and go from surviving to thriving.

References: Apigian, Amie MD. Biology of Trauma: Energy, Overwhelm and Freeze Module. 2021 Trauma Healing Accelerated