OVERVIEW OF THE SHUTDOWN RESPONSE

Your dorsal vagal shutdown state is home to depression, burnout or fatigue . Here, we retreat into nothingness, numbness, and disconnection from self, others, and the world. Our biology has entered into a state of conservation and hibernation as all of our working systems have slowed down to the slowest possible speed, leaving only fumes to run on. Exhaustion and dissociation take over as a means to keep us still, ensuring conservation of energy. In recognizing that this is the bottom of the nervous system ladder, titration is especially important for the journey back up to the top—where safety and connection reside.

 I want to reiterate that the state of shutdown has tremendous purpose. It’s often necessary when the weight of life has become overwhelming. Often, I have clients who place judgment or criticism on themselves for being in this state, and in a world that glorifies mobilizing productivity, hustle culture, and the go-go-go lifestyle, I can see where those limiting beliefs can stem from. But I want to remind you of one thing: rest is productive. It’s rest that allows for repair, and then reorganizing for the climb back up the ladder. And the pace in which you climb that ladder is incredibly important. For instance, with chronic fatigue, in moments when you feel good or energized, it’s crucial to save some of that energy and not spend it all. When coming out of shutdown, you go slow as you resume life-affirming activities--otherwise you’ll just continue the patterns that exhaust you. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Breaking free from any chronic survival response requires: 

1. Learning the language of your unique nervous system: sensation, emotion, feeling, impulse.
2. Understanding how your nervous system is reenacting these protective patterns and responses in your present day.
3. Somatic completion: allowing the nervous system physiology to do now, what felt too overwhelming to do back then. This turning point happens when you explore Core Wounds work. For example: advocating or setting a boundary, walking away, expressing or emoting, etc.
4. Building nervous system capacity/resilience to tolerate discomfort (anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, shame, etc). This is done through routine experiential practice.
5. Integrating a nervous system-centered lifestyle across your external world: relationships, health & wellbeing, career, finances, etc.