Do you ever feel like you’ve been put on pause?
A therapist’s explanation of stress resonated with TikTok users after a patient shared their words of wisdom in a recent post on the app.
“My therapist told me,” the user wrote in a recent text-based video with 2.7 million views. “The reason you’re in bed rotting away every day, won’t text people, and won’t leave the house is because you’re stuck in ‘functional freeze’ after living with such extreme stress that your brain feels disconnected from your body, so even the simplest tasks now feel overwhelming.”
Although not an actual clinical diagnosis, “functional freezing” is a phenomenon that many young people say they can relate to.
“I’ve been stuck in functional freeze for so long and I don’t know how to get out,” one person commented.
“Literally just thinking about going to the store feels overwhelming,” said another.
“Literally every little thing I do right now feels so overwhelming 😓,” echoed a third.
Similar terms such as “freeze response,” “autopilot mode,” or “stress paralysis” have appeared in mental health discourse on social media—all referring to anxious emotions that trigger unhealthy coping responses such as inaction. .
While people may experience a temporary freeze every now and then, experts are encouraging people to be aware and look out for warnings of something more serious – although it can be hard to recognize at first.
“People are able to engage in the kind of minimal basic functioning, so they continue to work and engage with others, but performance can slip,” TM Robinson-Mosley, a counseling psychologist, told USA Today. “Relationships may not be as healthy or productive. Communication can be a challenge. You can cancel plans and it’s really hard.”
Functional freezing also doesn’t happen overnight—it builds over time like building blocks until it collapses.
“Daily stress can build up to a level that’s overwhelming for your body, but how that stress is expressed will be different for everyone,” said Miranda Nadeau, a licensed psychologist, adding that you may be in a functional freeze “if you find yourself mentally. and physically stuck in place, going through the motions on autopilot.”
“Functional freezing allows you to go about your life, but in a robotic, disconnected way,” Nadeau explained. “It’s like your brain rests on emotional engagement to keep you operational in the short term.”
People experiencing a functional freeze may also appear to be doing well on the outside, but on the inside, they are struggling.
“They may appear high-functioning, socializing with others and maintaining the outward appearance of normalcy, but inside they feel emotionally numb, stuck and disconnected from the world around them,” Chase shared with USA Today Cassine, licensed clinical social worker. . “However, they are going through the motions to ‘survive in life; don’t thrive on it’”.
It is important to watch for signs of functional freezing in terms of frequency, intensity, and timing. If you’ve been freezing for two weeks or more, you may want to seek professional help.
“Functional freezing is not a clear diagnosis,” Mosley said. “It could just be an indication that something else is going on,” such as a mental health condition.
“Functional freeze” is the latest mental health buzzword in a steady trend that arose during the pandemic — a moment when the planet was united by the same existential tendency — after terms like “bed rot” and the Scottish concept of “hurkle- dark.”
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