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The Slow Work of Feeling Suppressed Emotions

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJuly 10, 2025 disassociate, disassociation, dorsal vagal shutdown, emotional numbness, fight flight freeze, flight or fight, freeze, freeze response, hyperarousal, hypoarousal, nervous system regulation, Parasympathetic nervous system, pendulation, peter levine, shutdown, somatic experiencing, somatic therapy, stress responses, suppressed emotions, sympathetic nervous system, titration, window of tolerance0 comments
The Slow Work of Feeling Suppressed Emotions Working with emotions—especially when they’ve been buried, shut down, or hard to name—reminds me a lot of orthodontics. It’s not fast. It’s not flashy. But it’s real. You can’t force a tooth into place without risking damage. And you can’t force suppressed emotions into awareness without overwhelming the system....
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Functional Freeze vs. Anhedonia vs. Burnout

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghMay 8, 2025 anhedonia, burn out, burnout, depression, freeze, freeze response, functional freeze0 comments
Functional Freeze vs. Anhedonia vs. Burnout Life’s challenges often take a toll on our mental health, leading to emotional and physical exhaustion. However, not all forms of mental and emotional struggle are the same. Functional freeze, anhedonia, and burnout are three distinct states of distress, each with unique characteristics, causes, and effects....
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Understanding the Freeze Response and Dorsal Vagal Shutdown

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghNovember 22, 2024 collapse, deb dana, disassociate, disassociation, dorsal vagal shutdown, freeze, freeze response, functional freeze, nervous system, nervous system regulation, peter levine, polyvagal ladder, polyvagal theory, shutdown, somatic therapy, Stephen Porges, stress responses, sympathetic nervous system, trauma responses0 comments
Understanding the Freeze Response and Dorsal Vagal Shutdown Have you ever felt frozen in the face of stress—unable to act or make a decision? This experience, often described as “freezing,” is a common yet misunderstood survival response. While many people refer to all forms of immobility as “freeze,” there are important distinctions within...
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