Why "Slowing Down" Feels Like a Full-Body Cringe

The past six months have been what I didn’t know I needed: a deeper dive into what my nervous system was still healing from, and asking for.

So many of us learned to override our nervous systems to keep going, be the strong reliable one, the one they could count on to fix everything, and pretty soon that became our identity. That kinda shutdown comes at a cost. That alarm you feel that doesn’t turn off is your nervous system trying to get your attention.

Anxiety, overwhelm, reactivity, are all the ways our bodies try to get us to stop and listen. But if you’ve felt like the only way to survive was to disconnect, no wonder it feels like the ickiest, full body cringe thing to slow down now. It might feel like weakness, or quitting.

I’ve fully been in that boat too and it’s hard feeling like you’re barely staying afloat most of the time. What I had to learn was burnout is not a badge of honor. Continuous suppression, pretending and self-sacrifice just breeds hurt, resentment and dysfunction. Codependence sucks, but it’s hard to see any other way when you’re in it.

Boundaries are hard, and scary, until your nervous system finally exhales cuz all your time and energy isn’t being used to save other people anymore. You’re actually leaving some for yourself.

If this has felt like you lately, I made a video to help you facilitate this shift in real-time. It’s a 7-minute practice focused on releasing the tension in your neck - the place where most of us store our survival mode bracing.

What I learned is that when you know how to listen to your nervous system, the alarms can finally turn off. You get to feel what it’s like when it’s quiet inside—when the urgency and panic are replaced by a slow, steady knowing. This is the work we do together in my 1:1 sessions. If you’re ready to shift out of overriding your body and start living from that quiet place, book a call with me to get started.