Thread by @thecoachkessler

I’ve been thinking a lot about my body’s resistance to what is happening all around us right now.

My innate fight/flight/freeze response to this global trauma. The startling jolt each morning of our present reality.

My body’s desire to escape and find safety.

How that jolt throughout my heart, my mind, and my body—while still fiercely present—dulls a bit each day.

How the initial grief at empty streets, citywide closures, and extreme social distancing measures is morphing into something else:

Numb acceptance.

I can tell my subconscious mind has grown to accept this eerie reality as “normal” because when I see photos of groups of people, my whole body tenses up.

I wonder what it will be like when we can all be close to each other again. Will we hesitate to gather in groups?

I can tell my mind is churning through a survival plan because of the rapidity with which it dismisses thoughts of “the way things should be” and refocuses my attention to what actually is so.

My mind is trying to protect me by adjusting its expectations to be content with less.

Meanwhile, my body is floored by adrenaline that has no outlet. My breathing gets faster, my pulse races.

There is no escape from this.

So my mind dulls my senses into numb acceptance again.

This is a trauma response to a traumatic event.

Living through this unprecedented experience is in itself a trauma.

It is a global trauma. A national trauma. A communal trauma. A personal trauma.

Even before loss of life, this pandemic is fraught with loss.

And loss invokes in us a sense of powerlessness that renders us likely to

fight
flee
or freeze.

These are our natural responses to danger or trauma or fear.

And these reactions are probably showing up in full force right now.

If you feel stuck, numb, or like you have to completely shut down in response to sensory overload, that is understandable.

It’s your body’s freeze response. It’s an indication that you are searching for safety and cannot find it.

So you freeze as an act of self preservation.

If you are feeling angry, have an adrenaline rush throughout your body, and feel more prone to lash out than usual, that is understandable.

It’s your body’s fight response. It’s your inner determination to take down the threat by force.

If you are feeling restless, anxious, fidgety, tense, or trapped and your body is screaming at you to escape, that is understandable.

It’s your flight response to trauma. It’s yet another survival instinct intended to protect you.

Right now, many of us are likely feeling all of these fight, flight, and freeze responses at once.

It’s the reason you may be more tired, irritable, restless, or worn down than usual.

This is perfectly normal in traumatic scenarios.

There is nothing wrong with you.

The important thing to remember is that while we cannot control the trauma, we can control what we do with the energy that builds up in our bodies.

Breathing exercises, movement, meditation, and centering can all be really helpful practices to help regulate the nervous system.

Conversations with loved ones, video calls, virtual game nights, and indulging in your favorite hobbies are additional ways to help restore a sense of familiarity and safety.

Even so, there is something to fully acknowledging that this entire scenario is an incredible trauma.

Trauma distorts our sense of what’s real and adjusts our expectations so we can cope with the loss we experience as a result.

If we are aware of this phenomenon, it can be a bit easier to navigate.

Trauma doesn’t discriminate. But it is likely to resurface stronger feelings of helplessness for those who have survived other traumas. Know that you are not alone.

Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other.

Eat. Sleep. Hydrate. Breathe.

We will get through this.