I Froze in Place and Couldn't Move. What's Wrong With Me? (Nothing)

The "freeze" response is neither cowardice nor a choice. It is a clever biological mechanism designed to save lives when the brain decides the threat is too great.

Why does this happen briefly?

We all know “fight or flight,” but there’s a third option that the brain reserves for extreme situations: “freeze.” Imagine your phone’s battery drops to 1% and it automatically goes into “power saving mode.” The screen goes dark and apps close. This is exactly what happens to the body in a freeze.

When your brain determines that you can’t fight a danger and can’t escape it (for example, when there’s nowhere to run or your fear is paralyzing), it activates a “system shutdown.” The evolutionary goal is to “play it dead” so that the predator doesn’t notice you, and also to disconnect us from the physical and emotional pain of the situation. It’s not you who chose not to move—it’s your operating system that decided to protect you in the only way it knows how.

Do you recognize this?

If you have felt the following, it is a sign that your system has gone into deep defense:

Physical paralysis: A feeling that the legs are "heavy as concrete" or that limbs cannot be moved.

Dissociation: A feeling that you are in a dream, that you are looking at the event from the outside, or that everything is happening in slow motion.

Mental "blackout": The brain becomes empty of thoughts, as if someone had unplugged the power cord.

My tool: "Cold Restart"

Because stagnation is a state of the nervous system, you can't "think" your way out of it. You have to physically signal your body to get back to business. The most effective tool is cold water:

Go to the faucet and wash your face with very cold water.

If there is no faucet, place a bottle of cold water or ice on the back of your head or forehead.

The cold activates an ancient reflex (the diving reflex) that slows the heart and awakens the thinking part of the brain.

To watch a short demo

The science behind stagnation: Why can't I move?

Many people who experience a freeze during an emergency carry with them afterwards severe feelings of guilt and shame. "Why did everyone run to the emergency room and I was left standing in the living room?", "Am I a coward?" The scientific answer is unequivocal: No. The freeze is not a moral failing, it is a biological mechanism.

The braking system: the dorsal vagus nerve

To understand the freeze, you need to know the least talked about part of our nervous system, called the Dorsal Vagus Nerve. If in the previous article we talked about "gas" (adrenaline), here we are talking about "emergency brake".

Our brain scans the environment all the time (a process called Neuroception). When it detects danger, it first tries the strategy of action (flight or fight). But if the brain quickly concludes that the threat is inevitable, greater than us, or that we have no chance of winning – it pulls the emergency brake.

"Playing it dead" – a strategy that is millions of years old

This is the oldest mechanism we have in our brain, which we share with reptiles. In nature, an animal that freezes and doesn't move becomes invisible to certain predators that detect movement. Moreover, if the predator has already caught it, the state of stasis releases natural painkillers (endorphins) and disconnects consciousness, so that the animal doesn't suffer in the final moments.

In people in situations of war or terror, this mechanism is sometimes activated with great force. It causes a drastic drop in heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tone—the exact opposite of a “normal” panic attack. This is why people report fainting or feeling extremely heavy.

Why is this happening to me?

It is important to understand that we do not have conscious control over the choice between “fight”, “flight” or “freeze”. The decision is made in a split second in areas of the brain that are not accessible to our conscious thought. The fact that you freeze does not say anything about you as a person, other than the fact that you have a survival brain that is doing its utmost to keep you alive in an impossible situation.

How do you get out of this?

Coming out of a state of stagnation should be gentle. Contrary to myth, one should not "shake" or shout at a person who is in a state of stagnation. One should restore their sense of security and body. Washing the face with cold water, as we suggested, helps to awaken the system. Even a soothing, familiar voice, or gentle touch (if the person agrees), can signal to the brain that the immediate danger has passed and that it is permissible to "turn the light on" again.