Trauma and the Freeze Response: How the Nervous System Protects Us

Most people have heard of fight or flight, states of hyperarousal that mobilize energy to deal with danger. Freeze belongs to a different branch of the defense cascade. When escape feels impossible the body shifts into hypoarousal, slowing heart rate, reducing muscle tone, and creating a protective sense of numbness or distance from reality. This can include dissociation, where experience feels foggy or unreal. khironclinics.com

How Hypoarousal Works

Freeze is driven by the dorsal vagal pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system. In this state people may notice shallow breathing, heavy limbs, blank mind, or the sense of “going offline.” It is the body’s way of conserving resources and dulling pain until the threat has passed. counselingwellnesspgh.com

Tonic Immobility: The Extreme Form of Freeze

Researchers describe a deeper layer called tonic immobility. Muscles become rigid, speech may stop, and the brain releases chemicals that create analgesia. Although the person appears motionless, internal alarm systems remain on high alert. This response has been observed in both animals and humans during assaults, accidents, and other overwhelming events. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Collapse and Shutdown

If danger continues the system can drop into full collapse. Energy plummets and the body may feel limp or faint. Polyvagal theory calls this dorsal vagal shutdown. It often presents with profound fatigue, disconnection, or a sense of emptiness. therapyinanutshell.com

Why Freeze Lingers

Wild animals instinctively shake or run once safe, discharging survival energy. Humans often override those impulses, stay in stressful environments, or receive messages to “get over it.” The protective response then stays lodged in the body and shows up later as chronic tension, pain, digestive trouble, emotional numbness, or persistent fogginess. healingshame.com

Integrative Paths to Thaw the Freeze Response

Somatic Experiencing (SE)

SE invites gentle awareness of internal sensations. I guide clients to notice micro-signals such as a small tremor, a spontaneous breath, or warmth spreading through the chest. Following these impulses lets the nervous system complete unfinished survival cycles and widen the Window of Tolerance. nicabm.com

EMDR

Stuck memories can keep the body poised in freeze. During EMDR we pair bilateral stimulation with mindful attention to those memories, allowing the brain to reprocess them. As the charge softens clients often report that limbs feel lighter and breathing deepens, clear signs that the system is moving out of hypoarousal.

Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)

Chronic pain is sometimes freeze energy held in the body. Through somatic tracking we observe pain sensations with curiosity instead of bracing. The brain learns the signal is uncomfortable yet safe, and pain often reduces as the body exits protective shutdown.

These approaches complement each other. SE builds body awareness, EMDR clears stored trauma, and PRT retrains danger pathways linked to pain. Together they teach the nervous system that the present moment is different from the past.

Signs That Thawing Is Underway

• A spontaneous deeper breath

• Warmth returning to hands or feet

• Subtle movement in once-rigid muscles

• Remembering a difficult event with less tension

• Greater ease staying present during daily tasks

Progress can feel slow and quiet. Each small shift is proof that the body is learning safety.

Moving Forward

If dissociation, numbness, or that stuck feeling has been part of your life, know that your nervous system adopted these strategies to help you endure. With patient, body-centered support it can learn new choices.

I integrate Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy in person in West Los Angeles and via secure telehealth across California. When you are ready to explore gentle ways to unfreeze, I would be honored to help you find steadiness, connection, and vitality again.