From Freeze to Flow: Reclaiming Embodied Vitality After Trauma
- Carrie
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
When trauma hits—especially medical/physical/emotional trauma, caregiving overwhelm, or chronic physical stress—our nervous systems often retreat into survival mode. We hear a lot about “fight” and “flight,” but less often about the third and perhaps less visible response: “freeze.”
In fact, much of the work of trauma recovery is less about pushing harder and more about unlocking what’s been held still. In this blog we’ll explore how to go from “freeze” to conscious flow: what really happens in the nervous system, why being frozen is not a moral failure but an adaptive survival strategy, and how you can begin to move into a more fluid, embodied state of safety, connection and creative aliveness.
What does “freeze” mean — and how does it show up?
The term “freeze” gets used loosely, but in trauma-informed work it has a specific meaning. According to the framework of Stephen W. Porges’s Polyvagal Theory, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) moves through a hierarchy of responses when we perceive safety, danger, or life-threat. (Verywell Mind)
In the ventral vagal state — we feel safe, socially engaged, grounded.
In the sympathetic state — the “fight/flight” zone: body revs up, heart rate rises.
In the dorsal vagal state — when threat is overwhelming or escape seems impossible: body stops, immobilizes or numbs. (brainharmony.com)
The “freeze” response often emerges when fight or flight isn’t possible, when there’s no visible route to safety.
“The freeze response is a natural survival mechanism triggered by stress or trauma. It happens when we feel that neither fight nor flight is an option.” (counselingwellnesspgh.com)
In simpler terms: your nervous system says, I can’t run, I can’t fight, so I’ll make myself small / still / invisible. It’s a protective move.
Common freeze-state signals may include:
Feeling stuck, unable to move forward, indecisive.
Numbness or dissociation (“floating,” “out of body,” “just going through the motions”).
Exhaustion, low energy, collapse.
Shutting down socially: withdrawal, isolation.
Physical sensations like coldness, emptiness, heavy limbs, slowed heart-rate or shallow breathing. (JustinLMFT)
A helpful clarification: freeze isn’t always the same as full shutdown (which might be more severe dorsal vagal collapse).
“Freeze is stiffening. Freeze is the combination of sympathetic arousal plus shutdown.” (JustinLMFT)
In other words: you might feel a lot of internal energy, yet outwardly appear immobilized. That internal tension + exterior stillness = one form of freeze.
Why “flow” isn’t about forced productivity — it’s about regulation
When we talk about moving from “freeze to flow,” it’s not about instantly becoming hyper-efficient or always “on.” Instead, the goal is to reclaim the regulated window of nervous system functioning in which you can feel alive, embodied, connected, and responsive rather than stuck, shut down or reactive.
Flow here means: capacity to be present with what is, to move when needed, to engage creatively, to rest when needed — all with more choice and agency. In trauma recovery, this is deeply healing because it restores the body’s ability to move freely through states, rather than staying locked in one.
As Porges writes in his foundational work:
“The polyvagal theory describes an autonomic nervous system … adaptive reactivity dependent on the phylogeny of the neural circuits…” (PMC)
In trauma-informed language: your nervous system did what it needed to survive. Now you are learning to live — to move from survival into aliveness.
What keeps us locked in freeze?
Here are some common factors that make a freeze-state persist:
Perceived threat that hasn’t resolved – If your body perceives danger (even unconscious danger: physical/mental/emotional trauma, body-shame, unresolved pain, hyper-vigilance), it stays in a defensive mode. Neuroception (our body’s sensing of safety/danger) keeps scanning. (amsmedicine.com)
Chronic physical pain or structural strain – You mentioned large-breast physical discomfort and medical trauma in your practice. Physical pain keeps the sympathetic or dorsal vagal systems engaged.
Emotional overwhelm & fusion with survival strategies – When the body had to freeze to survive earlier, the nervous system may default there under less overt threat. From an article:
“Functional freeze can begin to manifest in the face of chronic trauma or stress… We might be able to function, but we are often disconnected from any sense of joy, hope, or social connection.” (rootrisetherapyla.com)
Body-mind disconnection – When we don’t inhabit our bodies safely, or when parts of us dissociate (childhood trauma, medical trauma), the body may default to “out of reach” states.
Lack of safe relational/regulatory co-presence – The ventral vagal state thrives in safe connection. Without it, the body stays in defensive modes. (Center for Healing Shame)
The pathway from freeze → flow: practical steps
Here are healing-oriented steps you can take.
1. Begin with safety as the foundation
Healing cannot begin until the nervous system senses it’s possible to be safe. Encourage small, gentle experiences of safety: soft lighting, a calming space, a trusted friend or healing practitioner, slow breath. Dr Porges calls this the neuroception of safety. (NICABM)
Ask Yourself: Where in my body do I feel safe right now? Notice even a small softness, a gentle release, a moment of calm.
2. Notice without judgement (“felt sense” tracking)
Begin to sense your body: where is tension held? Where is the body stuck? Where is there numbness, or heaviness? Bringing gentle awareness helps move the nervous system from implicit stuckness into felt, conscious noticing.
Ask Yourself: “I am noticing a heaviness around my chest”; “I feel a tightening in my belly when I remember …” These observations themselves shift things.
3. Micro-movements and impulse tracking
Often the body has impulses it couldn’t act on (in the original trauma freeze). Encourage small, safe micro-movements: a tiny shake of the hand, a stretch of the arm, a small sway of the body. These awaken the liveliness that was held back.
“Shake it out! Shake your arms, shake out your legs… Go for a walk and engage in a walking meditation.”
4. Grounding and embodiment rituals
Those with medical/physical/emotional trauma or body-image struggles (such as judgment or shame), grounding becomes crucial. You might build rituals that invite soft contact with the body, safe touch such as a self hug, guided imagery of flow, and breath that moves through the body.
Example: A “body-scan without judgment” or a “flowing wave breath” where inhale rises up back/spine, exhale releases down legs into the earth.
Use language like: My breath flows like water into this part of me that felt stuck.
5. Social engagement & co-regulation
From the polyvagal perspective, connection with a safe other re-activates the ventral vagal social-engagement system. That’s why in trauma recovery, the relational container matters so much.
6. Moving from immobility → mobility → expressive flow
As safety increases, the body can move from freeze (immobility) into mobility (movement, activism, expression) and then into flow (creative expression, embodied presence). Map this out: immobility → subtle movement → fully expressive flow.
Phase 1: Rest & receive (freeze/safe stillness)
Phase 2: Awake & move (micro-movements, gentle activation)
Phase 3: Express & create (rituals, creative embodiment, integration)
7. Integration and meaning-making
Ask Yourself: What gifts do I receive from this healing journey? How have I grown? How does my embodied flow serve me now?
Why this matters for trauma-recovery healing work
A body locked in freeze often contributes to shame, self-judgment, disconnection from the body — all of which compound medical trauma, large-breast body image issues, physical pain and agoraphobia.
Helping a client move toward flow doesn’t mean making them busy or forcing productivity — it means helping them re-inhabit their body, reclaim agency, reconnect spiritually, and enter a new relationship with their trauma story (rather than remaining its captive).
Your angle (spiritual healing, energy work, psychic medium readings, trauma recovery) opens a rich field: the body is the temple; the nervous system is the gateway to the unseen. By helping clients regulate and flow in the body, you deepen their capacity for spiritual receptivity and transformation.
The blog also provides content you can reuse: you can excerpt it for your membership, create a guided meditation around “flowing breath after freeze,” craft a worksheet (“Where in my body do I still feel stuck?”; “What movement whispers to me?”) and integrate into your online programme.
If you’re reading this and feel that part of you is still in freeze — maybe because of past trauma, body image insecurities, or the very real physical burden of large breasts and judgement — you are not alone.
I invite you to book a Trauma Recovery Coaching + Energy Healing Session, where we’ll gently open the doorway from freeze into flow, using embodied, body-mind-spirit practices. Let’s meet you where you are, and help you step into the embodied flow of your healing, your wisdom, your radiant presence.
With warmth and witness,
Carrie-Leigh Bartlett
Pure Lotus Wellness Retreat
References
Porges S. W. (2009) The polyvagal theory: New insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system. Cleve Clin J Med. (PMC)
Reutter K. (2021) Trauma stabilization through polyvagal theory and DBT. Counseling Today Magazine. (www.counseling.org)
Understanding Dorsal Vagal Shutdown: from Collapse to Trauma. Justin LMFT Blog. (JustinLMFT)
Understanding the Freeze Trauma Response. Reclaim Therapy Blog. (Reclaim Therapy)
The Freeze Response Explained: Somatic Perspectives on Trauma. Soulful Therapy Canada. (Soulful Therapy)
Revved Up, But Shut Down: Functional Freeze. Root Rise Therapy LA Blog. (rootrisetherapyla.com)
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