“The freeze response is when you become still and slow down. It can happen when you are scared. Freezing can help you hide from danger.”
American Psychological Association (APA)2
Defining Functional Freeze: Feeling Stuck and Numb
Functional freeze is like being in two worlds at once. People can do their daily tasks and what others expect, but they feel very separate inside and emotionally numb. This isn’t a choice; it’s how they automatically react to stress or trauma that feels too big. Here are key things about functional freeze:
Feeling Distant and Cut Off: A main part is feeling disconnected. This means not just from feelings, but also from what’s around you and even your own body. Feeling distant is like a shield against feelings that are too much to handle.
Looking Fine on the Outside: People in functional freeze often seem okay to others. They still go to work, see friends, and do their routines. But this normal outside hides what’s happening inside, making it hard to notice there’s a problem.
Numbness Inside: Even when they are active, people in functional freeze don’t feel emotions strongly. It’s like their feelings are turned down low, and they struggle to feel happy, sad, or angry.
Feeling Trapped: A common feeling is being stuck and unable to move forward in life. This can show up as trouble making decisions, even small ones, or starting new things. It makes them feel like they can’t get going.
Functional freeze is different from other reactions to trauma because it mixes being active on the outside with being shut down on the inside.3
Recognizing Functional Freeze: Key Symptoms
Functional freeze can look different in people, but there are common signs to look for in emotions and the body:
Emotional Symptoms
People often feel emotionally numb, like their feelings are turned off or flat. Dissociation is another feeling, like being detached from themselves or their surroundings, and life feels unreal. They may have no motivation to do things or reach goals, feeling like they just don’t care. Making decisions is hard, even for small things, and they feel stuck when they have to choose. They might avoid situations that feel too much or stressful. Underneath it all, they often have anxiety and depression, but the freeze can hide these feelings.
Physical Symptoms
Functional freeze also affects the body. People can have physical numbness, feeling less in their body or disconnected from it. Feeling tired all the time is common, even when they seem busy. They might have muscle tension, aches, and pains for no clear reason. Sleep problems, like not being able to sleep, can happen. Lastly, they can have stress symptoms like stomach issues or headaches, showing their body is under pressure.
Knowing these symptoms is the first step to understanding and helping with functional freeze.4
Causes of Functional Freeze: Understanding the Roots
Functional freeze usually starts when people face situations that feel too scary or stressful for too long. Here are some common causes:
Long-Lasting Stress: Being under high stress for a long time can cause functional freeze. Jobs that demand too much or caring for someone for a long time can use up all your energy, leading to freeze as a way to avoid total burnout.
Trauma That Isn’t Healed: Past traumas that people haven’t fully dealt with can make them more likely to freeze. Old traumas can make your body react strongly to new stress, causing a freeze response.
Abuse or Neglect Over Time: Living with abuse or neglect, especially as a child, can change how your body reacts to stress. Freezing can become a way to survive in those situations, and it can stay as a reaction later in life.
Trauma from Medical Issues: Serious health problems or long times in the hospital can be very stressful for your body and mind. These overwhelming events can lead to functional freeze.
Pushing Down Emotions: If you always try to ignore or hide your feelings, it can lead to emotional shutdown. Not dealing with emotions can cause you to go into functional freeze over time.
Big Life Changes or Loss: Major changes like losing a job, moving, or losing someone you love can shake your world. If these changes feel too much, especially if you don’t deal with your sadness, it can trigger functional freeze.4
Pathways to Reconnection: Addressing Functional Freeze
Getting better from functional freeze takes time, self-kindness, and often help from someone who knows about trauma. Here are some ways to start feeling connected again:
Notice and Say It’s Freeze: First, realize you are in functional freeze. Know it’s a real reaction to stress or trauma, not a personal failing. Just seeing it and accepting it is a big first step.
Mindfulness and Body Work: Try things that connect you to your body and mind. Mindfulness exercises, yoga, or gentle movement can help you feel your body and emotions again, slowly making the distance less.
Move Gently and Be Active Mindfully: Do regular, easy exercise. Moving your body gently can release tension and help you feel more in your body. Don’t push too hard, as that can make you feel worse.
Get Creative: Do things that let you express yourself, like art, music, or writing. These can be ways to show feelings that are hard to talk about.
Connect Safely with Others: Spend time with people you trust and feel safe with. Being with friends or family who support you can give you emotional help and make you feel less alone. Start slowly with social things.
Get Help from a Trauma Therapist: Often, talking to a therapist who knows about trauma is key. Therapies like Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, or Sensorimotor Psychotherapy are made to help with freeze reactions and trauma. They can teach you ways to calm your body and deal with trauma.
Be Kind to Yourself: Always practice self-compassion. Functional freeze is a way your body tried to protect you. Getting better needs you to be patient, kind, and understanding with yourself.
Healing from functional freeze is not fast. It’s a process of slowly and kindly reconnecting with yourself and the world. Having a professional therapist help you can be very important in this journey of healing and getting connected again.3
Functional Freeze as a Survival Response
Functional freeze, while letting people keep going on the outside, shows a deep inner struggle from stress and trauma. Knowing functional freeze is a survival response, understanding its signs and causes, and using good ways to recover are important for healing. In the end, getting over functional freeze is about gently and kindly reconnecting with your feelings, your body, and the world around you, often with help from mental health experts.
If you or someone you know is showing signs of functional freeze, getting professional help is a strong step forward.
