Understanding Freeze: What “Wired But Tired” Really Means for Your Nervous System (Different States Series – Part 3)

anxiety, depression, Regulate & Rewire Podcast

Episode 121: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
View transcript on Buzzsprout

Freeze is arguably the most confusing, nuanced, and self-blame-inducing state for people to understand. We often mistake it for laziness, depression, or some character flaw — it’s not.  It’s a protective state that your nervous system creates when it’s had too much for too long and doesn’t know what to do next. This episode takes a compassionate deep dive into this common but misunderstood experience. We untangle what’s happening when your body’s gas and brake pedals are pressed at the same time and offer gentle, practical ways to find movement again when you feel trapped.

What We Cover in This Episode

  • What freeze is and how it differs from anxiety and shutdown
  • Why we get stuck in the wired-but-tired loop
  • How parts work helps us understand freeze with more compassion
  • Five types of practices to shift gently out of freeze

What Is Freeze, Really?

Freeze is a mixed nervous system state. It combines sympathetic activation (think fight-or-flight energy) with dorsal vagal shutdown (collapse and disconnection). Imagine pressing the gas and brake pedals at the same time. Your system wants to act but feels like it can’t. That contradiction leads to the all-too-familiar loop of overthinking and under-functioning.

It can feel like restlessness paired with emotional numbness. Or anxiety combined with heaviness in your limbs. Your breath may be restricted, muscles tense, and your body exhausted—even though your mind is racing.

Amanda breaks down this nuanced state with examples and metaphors (like the squirrel that freezes when it spots a dog), and helps normalize why your system might default here, especially if you’ve experienced chronic overwhelm or powerlessness in the past.

How Freeze Differs from Shutdown

Freeze and shutdown are not the same—and understanding the difference matters. Freeze comes with urgency and care. Shutdown often brings apathy or collapse.

In freeze, you want to act but feel stuck. In shutdown, you feel like nothing matters at all. Amanda explains why this distinction helps clients release shame and meet their experience with more accuracy and support.

Why We Get Stuck in Freeze

Freeze is often a response to unresolved activation or overwhelming circumstances where fight or flight weren’t possible. Contributors include:

  • Chronic overwhelm or contradictory demands
  • Past powerlessness (especially in childhood)
  • Inner parts in conflict (e.g. a perfectionist vs. a tired part)

Inside Restore, our coaches works with clients through both a physiological and psychological lens to navigate these inner contradictions to restore nervous system flexibility and reduce freeze as a default pattern.

Tools for Working with Freeze

Amanda offers five categories of tools to help shift out of freeze gently:

Small Mobilization: Tiny movements like swaying, hand shaking, or pacing slowly. The goal is to send a cue: “we’re not stuck.”

Containment & Pressure: Self-hugs, feet pressing into the floor, wrapping in a blanket. One favorite: placing one hand on the forehead and one on the back of the skull for head containment.

Orienting to Safety: Use your senses to ground in the present. Slowly name five neutral things you see in the room. This helps your system register that it’s safe right now.

Pairing Sound & Breath: Soft humming, audible sighs, gentle whispers like “we’re okay.” These practices stimulate the vagus nerve and don’t require much energy.

The 1% Shift: Go micro. Wash one cup. Text one person. The goal isn’t productivity—it’s reminding your system it has choice.

Working with Parts in Freeze

Freeze often reflects internal conflict. Amanda shares how to use parts work to:

  • Get curious about which parts are in conflict
  • Validate each part’s protective role
  • Find a middle path that honors both

Instead of overriding freeze, ask: “What do you need? What feels possible right now?” Practicing a parts-based approaches overtime, especially with therapeutic support, can build more cooperation and less internal chaos overtime.

Deeper Work to Prevent Chronic Freeze

Amanda offers five longer-term strategies:

Address Overwhelm: Be honest about the load vs. your capacity. Reducing “too muchness” helps prevent freeze from becoming your baseline.

Build Conflict Tolerance: Learn to sit with discomfort and conflicting emotions which builds the resilience needed to move through uncertainty.

Deepen Parts Work: Identify the protective role of each part. Support them in working with each other rather than against.

Increase Nervous System Capacity” Play, rest, safe connection, nature, and movement help increase your vagal tone and resilience.

Loosen Perfectionism & Control: Freeze thrives in rigid systems. Creating flexibility and safety in “doing it wrong” offers momentum.

Three Tangible Takeaways

  1. Freeze is protection, not procrastination. That “I have to, but I can’t” loop is your nervous system trying to keep you safe.
  2. Start micro, stay gentle. Tiny actions signal safety and can lead to greater capacity over time.
  3. Address the root, not just the symptoms. Long-term relief comes from tending to the deeper patterns and needs underneath freeze.

Looking for more personalized support?

*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *