Why procrastination isn’t laziness & 3 steps to work with this state.
Procrastination often shows up as an inability to start things and just “feeling stuck” or avoiding certain tasks on your to-do list. When you know you should have sent an important email an hour ago and you still find yourself glued to the sofa with Netflix or busy with other unimportant tasks in order to avoid the one that actually matters.
You may find yourself wondering why can’t you just get yourself to do it?
Procrastination often goes hand in hand with our nervous system freeze state. Freeze state is the nervous system's way to protect through disappearing so this state can feel like lethargy, numbness, hopelessness, immobility, disconnection to self and others & feeling stuck - just going through the motions but not really being here.
3 steps to work with procrastination and freeze state
1. First of all, tune into your body and the sensations in your body.
Is there any underlying emotions? Can you breathe into them and just listen.
Where in the body is this emotion?
Does it have a shape/color?
Can you name this sensation?
2. Spend some time getting to know this part of your being. The one who feels that it needs to protect through disappearing. Tune into your body and sensations.
Why is this part of you here?
What is its job?
What does it need?
Is this response needed in this situation?
3. Use subtle movements to help your system to slowly move out of freeze state. Straighten your spine, do a couple of shoulder rolls or raise your hands slowly over head with each breath, wiggle your toes or stand up.
How does your body feel like moving?
How does your body respond to movement?
Finding the right degree of activation for your system is key. In order to move out of freeze state without causing more overwhelm, it's necessary to find the right degree of activation for your system. Pushing yourself too much will most likely kick you back into freeze so start very small and listen how your system responds.
What is the right amount of challenge that does not overwhelm you but feels like you can do it?
The goal is not just getting rid of these states of protection but learning to understand them and create new ways of responding. Our bodies - our nervous systems - are constantly trying to keep us safe. And without facing and getting to know the affects (feelings, emotions & sensations) and experiences behind the protective patterns, we will easily repeat the same habit of just existing and reacting the same way.
Learning to bring safety into your body is necessary if you want to overcome this response and move out of your comfort zone safely. With practice you can get to know this part of your system and create new ways of responding to challenges. You can change patterns of protection into patterns of connection. And over time you can grow your capacity to be with challenging emotions thus growing your comfort zone.
If you find yourself often stuck in freeze state and unable to move forward with your goals, somatic coaching is for you.
In somatic coaching we will map & get to know your nervous system so that you will learn how each state (fight/flight/freeze) shows up in your daily life. We will practice together how to be with and navigate these different states so that you don’t have to feel stuck in one of them for too long.
