A functional freeze is a mind-body response to being stressed or overwhelmed. It can look like struggling to decide what task to complete next, and spending hours in one spot looking at your phone instead, says Liz Tenuto, known on social media as “The Workout Witch.”
“Functional freeze is this interesting place that I feel like a lot of women exist and live in quite regularly, and that’s where you can still get all of your tasks done during the day,” Tenuto tells CNBC Make It.
“Then when they get home and when they finish everything, they just completely crash out and have a hard time getting out of bed.”
Tenuto has a degree in psychology and has studied the impact that stress and trauma can have on the body. Functional freeze is a common form of freezing that she sees in her clients, and better understanding that state and how to get out of it is a hot topic on TikTok thanks in part to her viral videos.
10 signs you may be in a state of functional freeze
“Essentially conserving as much energy as possible before you start tomorrow,” she says.
Some signs of functional freeze are:
- Feeling emotionally numb
- Being unable to cry
- Self-isolating and no longer feeling social
- Frequent disassociation
- Excessive social media use
- Spending too much time watching TV
- Using substances or drinking alcohol to feel numb
- Having sleep issues or feeling constantly exhausted
- Struggling with unexplained gut issues
- Experiencing physical pain without a clear cause
‘Movement is the best way to come out of functional freeze’
Experts call the process of shifting out of functional freeze “thawing.” And Tenuto says that “movement is the best way to come out of [it].”
But you don’t want to overwhelm your body with intense exercises, she notes.
“If you’re in freeze, or functional freeze, your body is also kind of frozen, meaning like you don’t have the energy to get up and go out and walk around, let alone do exercise,” Tenuto says. “Somatic exercises really help get you out of fight, flight or freeze.”
Somatic exercises were designed to relieve tension and involve moving your body slowly and mindfully, focusing on how it feels on the inside, rather than how it looks. Yoga, breathwork and dance are all forms of somatic movement.
Somatic exercises really help get you out of fight, flight or freeze.
Liz Tenuto
“The Workout Witch”
In Tenuto’s practice as an instructor of somatic exercise, she focuses on “really tiny, micro-movements,” like pulling on your ears, working your way up or down the length of each lobe. This exercise can stimulate your vagus nerve and give you a boost of energy.
On her TikTok, Tenuto also demonstrates somatic therapy exercises like holding your chin and turning your head slowly from side to side and gently rocking on your side for one minute on the left and then the right, which can help relieve anxiety.
A change of scenery can also lead to improvements. Even a 20-minute walk around your neighborhood can help with emotional processing, Tenuto says.
There is just one thing Tenuto does not suggest to anyone who is currently in a state of functional freeze: meditation.
“Relaxing more, and not moving at all can actually exacerbate the freeze response,” Tenuto says. “Gentle movement is the best way.”
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