Hello and welcome.
Do you find yourself numb to the world?
Not happy,
Not sad?
Just feeling disconnected
and apathetic?
You may be experiencing functional freeze.
This is what can happen
after fight or flight.
It means that fight or flight didn't help because the stressors keep
coming.
And so our bodies protect ourselves by trying to prepare us for what feels like
an unavoidable threat.
This is a beautiful and healthy response that our bodies perform
to protect us.
However,
Many of us are feeling trapped in this cycle.
Today we will focus on things that will specifically help you begin the process
of convincing your body that you are safe and that you no longer need to be numb to the world.
Much of the healing that takes place for functional freeze
involves moving your body so that our minds can feel reconnected and grounded.
If you are unable to move your body,
That's all right.
Just follow along with your awareness of
the body parts as we discuss them.
Otherwise,
I'll be guiding you in some simple movements.
When we are feeling frozen,
Movement seems absolutely unrealistic and adds to the stress.
So we're going to start very small.
This will help your subconscious feel safe and rebuild confidence.
A silly analogy would be to picture your subconscious as a frightened little mouse
hiding in a hole.
And the body awareness exercises are like coaxing techniques to get the mouse out
to enjoy some cheese.
It's healthy for the mouse to be skeptical and take its time before it can
learn that it's okay to come out and eat the cheese with joy and without fear.
It wouldn't
be wise for the mouse to immediately trust that it's safe.
Your body and subconscious mind
is being very wise and protective of you right now.
But to release ourselves from this protective
state and come into our carefree joy,
We must slowly teach our bodies that we can trust ourselves.
You're going to use some simple tapping techniques called EFT,
Emotional freedom technique,
To ground us back into our bodies.
This is a proven somatic healing technique,
Somatic meaning body,
And is supported by research.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable
seated position or lying down.
Close your eyes and take a few slow,
Deep breaths in and out.
Now bring to mind a situation which is causing negative emotions within you.
It could be a specific event,
Memory,
Or feeling that's been bothering you.
Good.
Now feel it in your body.
Purposefully thinking about these things can be painful.
Where do you physically feel the pain?
On a scale of one to ten,
Try to assess how painful it feels.
If you're feeling numb and can't connect to the pain,
That's all right.
It's what we're working on.
Don't forget to breathe.
Now we will come up with a statement acknowledging the pain and accepting it.
Consider the painful situation that just came to mind and fill in the blank.
Even though I feel
blank,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
For example,
Even though I feel ashamed
for losing my job,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
It's okay to feel the emotions and not be the emotions.
Take a moment to decide how to word it.
Acknowledge the painful feeling and offer yourself
words of loving support.
I'll help remind you along the way,
So don't get anxiety over trying
to remember.
Even though I feel blank,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Now that you are feeling the emotions and have decided on a statement,
We will begin the simple tapping.
Each round of tapping uses nine acupressure points.
Repeat your statement to yourself as you gently tap each point in turn.
Even though I feel blank,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Begin tapping on the karate chop point of your hand,
The fleshy part of your hand,
Below your pinky finger.
Alternating from side to side,
Just do what feels natural.
Even though I feel blank,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Now begin tapping your inner eyebrows where your hair begins.
Even though I feel blank,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Now tap your face at the sides of your eyes.
Breathe.
Now under your eyes,
Even though I feel,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Under the nose.
Now tap your chin.
Focus on releasing the negative emotions from your body as you tap.
Now tap two fingers distance under your collarbone.
Even though I feel,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Now on your sides,
On your upper ribcage,
Under the arms.
Under the arms.
I release these emotions from my body.
Now tap the top of the head.
Even though I feel,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Now repeat this cycle.
Go back to the beginning,
Tapping on the karate chop point of your hands.
Now tapping your inner eyebrows.
Now tap your face at the sides of your eyes.
Now under your eyes,
Even though I feel,
I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Tap under the nose.
Now your chin.
Releasing these emotions from your body and freeing them.
Under your collarbone.
Now on the sides under the arms.
Now tap the top of your head and breathe.
Let's do this one more time.
Tap the karate chop point of your hand.
Now begin tapping the inner eyebrows.
Now tap your face on the sides of your eyes.
Now tap your face on the sides of your eyes.
Now under your eyes.
Continue repeating your healing phrase.
Tap under the nose.
Now your chin.
Under your collarbone.
Now on your sides under your arms.
The top of your head.
Now rest your hands back down beside you and take a moment to breathe.
Check in with yourself and notice any shifts in how you feel physically,
Mentally,
Or emotionally.
If you rated your pain level,
Does it feel like the number has diminished?
Take another deep,
Calming breath and release it with any remaining tension.
Remember that you can do this at any time throughout the day.
Research suggests that it can make a major difference in only four to ten sessions.
Thank you for trusting me to help you safely emerge from your functional freeze state.
Be kind to yourself as you move about your day.
Be kind to yourself as you move about your day and give yourself space to reflect and breathe.
I believe in you.
I love you.
You're doing a wonderful job.
