7 Micro Habits to Escape the Freeze Response - Polyvagal Tools for Depression & Burnout

Dec 18, 2025

Explore seven transformative micro habits to escape the freeze response and revive your energy. Discover how improving posture and soaking up morning light can enhance your mood. Learn to wake your nervous system with heat and cold techniques, while gentle vagus nerve stimulation promotes calm. Address paralysis with structured routines and combat negativity with gratitude practices. Finally, find true restorative rest and enjoy the energizing power of scents like peppermint. Get ready to feel alive and motivated!

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INSIGHT

Polyvagal Ladder Explains Nervous States

The polyvagal ladder explains three nervous states: ventral vagal (safe), sympathetic (activated), and dorsal vagal (shutdown).
Recognizing which state you're in helps target strategies to restore safety and energy.

ADVICE

Act, Don't Berate Yourself

Stop berating yourself because self-attack increases stress and prevents safety restoration.
Start tiny actions instead since dopamine and mood follow action, not the other way around.

ADVICE

Use Posture To Signal Safety

Improve posture now: sit taller, lift your head, roll shoulders back and put feet on the floor.
Small upright shifts send signals to your nervous system that you are capable and safer.

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7 micro habits to escape the freeze response, climb the polyvagal ladder, boost energy, heal burnout, and get unstuck from dorsal vagal shutdown and depression.

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If you feel sluggish, numb, depressed, or burnt out, your nervous system might be stuck in the freeze response. In this video, I’ll teach you 7 tiny habits that activate energy, restore safety, and help your body move up the polyvagal ladder. These simple, science-backed steps help you feel more alive, more motivated, and more like yourself again.

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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe

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