Freeze

Have you ever felt that the longer your to-do list becomes the less you get done? 

This is called Overwhelm Freeze. You become so overwhelmed your brain begins to perceive your to-do list as a threat.

Have you ever noticed a student just stop what they are doing or come in and do nothing? Perhaps they are not being work avoidant, defiant, or ignoring you. Perhaps they feel overwhelmed to the point of freeze. The tasks you are asking them to complete have now become a threat to their brain. 

Often times when we observe a student disengaging from a lesson and their work we address it head on, as we should.  However, we might not be doing it in a productive way. We may notice a result of further withdraw or even explosion.

The website Navigationpsychology.com has shared a list of possible overwhelm freeze responses we might see. It is good to have an understanding of what it might look like in an effort to better support a student, co-worker, or ourselves.

Here is the list that was shared:

• Feeling so overwhelmed by your to-do list that you end up doing nothing

• Putting off dealing with stressful situations

• Procrastinating tasks you need to finish

• Struggling to make decisions

• Going blank in a conversation

• Having difficulty speaking up or taking action to protect yourself

• Shutting down or checking out after a tough day

• Escaping by scrolling on your phone, bingeing shows, or playing video games for hours on end

• Feeling numb, flat, or lacking in emotion

• Feeling helpless or powerless to take action

• Feeling detached from your body or your surroundings

Once we recognize the signs we can support in a way that will help not harm the person stuck in a state of freeze.

 

If you would like to take 7 minutes to explore this topic in a mindful way tune in to The Daily Jay on he Calm app. Thursday Oct 17 is all about overwhelm freeze. Jay even shares that we can utilize mindfulness to help get out of the freeze state.

The website Navigationpsychology.com also shares that the first step to acknowledge that we are in that state. This could  also be used when asking a student if they feel frozen, stuck, or overwhelmed and talking with about being the freeze state.

The freeze response is signal from our brain to our body that there is danger. Real or perceived danger is still danger in the Amygdala. Engaging in a grounding mindfulness can help bring reality awareness to our brain and body. 

Below is a good relaxation mindful meditation for our students who may be in the freeze state.

You can also utilize Inner Explorer. For younger kids look for the "relaxation train" for elementary students look into "a body scan" and for our middle school students you can also explore "body scan." This helps us find the feelings in our body and learn to release them.

On the Daily Jay, Jay suggests giving yourself a sort of If-Then statement. Or a Once-Then option. Once I complete task one on my list I can sit on my phone for 5 minutes. If I complete a task I can relax with a book or podcast. Tie a task to a reward. We do it for students, do not be afraid to do it for yourself.

Start small and build. Allow your students to start small and build. It is not always easy to remind our brain and body that a threat is not real and we can move forward. It takes time and practice. It takes a mindfulness practice.