Fight, Flight, Freeze: How to Tell If You’re Stuck in Survival Mode
Have you ever felt anxious without knowing why, constantly tired no matter how much you sleep, or overwhelmed by things that used to feel manageable? These may not just be signs of stress—they could be signals that your nervous system is stuck in survival mode.
Our bodies are wired to protect us from danger, but when the system designed for short-term protection stays switched on long term, it can affect everything from your energy and digestion to your mood and muscle tension.
What Is the Fight, Flight, Freeze Response?
The fight, flight, or freeze response is part of your autonomic nervous system, specifically the sympathetic branch, which prepares your body to respond to a perceived threat.
Fight: is the impulse to defend yourself.
Flight: is the urge to escape.
Freeze: is the feeling of shutting down or disconnecting.
These reactions are automatic, designed to help us survive real threats. The problem? Your nervous system doesn’t always know the difference between a true emergency and chronic, everyday stress.
Signs You May Be Stuck in Survival Mode
If your nervous system isn’t shifting back into rest-and-repair mode (known as the parasympathetic state), you might notice signs like:
Feeling tired but wired
Digestive issues like bloating or slow motility
Clenching your jaw or grinding teeth
Shallow or rapid breathing
Muscle tension that never fully releases
Trouble sleeping or waking up feeling unrested
Heightened emotional reactivity or numbness
Difficulty focusing or remembering things
These signs are your body's way of saying it's still on high alert—even if the threat has passed.
Why This Happens
Survival mode can be triggered by physical, emotional, or environmental stressors—anything from trauma and illness to long work hours or lack of sleep. When stress becomes chronic, the nervous system can become dysregulated, making it harder to return to a balanced, calm state.
Fascia, breath, and posture all play a role here. If your body is physically holding onto a survival pattern—like rounded shoulders, a clenched abdomen, or a locked jaw—your brain receives signals that it’s still in danger, perpetuating the cycle.
What You Can Do to Shift Out of It
Getting out of survival mode isn’t about “thinking your way calm.” It's about helping your body feel safe again. Here are some ways to start:
Breathwork: Slow, diaphragmatic breathing helps stimulate the vagus nerve and shift you into a parasympathetic state.
Bodywork: Modalities like massage, craniosacral therapy, Bowen therapy, and lymphatic drainage can help regulate the nervous system by calming physical tension and restoring sensory balance.
Grounding Practices: Walking barefoot, gentle movement, or sensory stimulation (like holding something textured or warm) can bring awareness back into the body.
Limit Stimulants: Caffeine and screen time can keep your system wired. Reducing these helps calm the baseline.
Create Micro-moments of Safety: Even small pauses to stretch, exhale fully, or soften your posture can help interrupt the survival loop.
It’s Not “Just Stress”
Many people normalize feeling burnt out, anxious, or disconnected. But these aren’t signs of weakness—they’re signs that your nervous system has been working overtime. When you understand how the fight, flight, and freeze responses operate, you can begin to work with your body to create real change.
Whether through targeted bodywork, nervous system education, or daily self-regulation tools, there are ways to shift out of survival and back into a state of ease, clarity, and connection.
