As Children, We Had No Power. But We’re Not Powerless Anymore
Even though it feels like it sometimes
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I’ve come to realize that nothing triggers my freeze response quite like powerlessness.
When an obstacle arises that makes me feel incapable of changing my circumstances, my body instinctively shuts down. Numbness wraps around me like a cocoon, protecting me from the sharp, familiar pain of not being able to do anything.
It can be something simple — something that, later on, I recognize wasn’t such a big deal — but in the moment, it triggers something deep inside me. Something raw and unresolved, as if the weight of every helpless moment I’ve ever felt comes rushing back all at once, overwhelming me before I even have a chance to think.
In those moments, the world suddenly feels too big, too fast, and I feel too small to keep up.
It’s startling how quickly it happens — how my body and mind retreat to that old, familiar place without warning. When something triggers me that way now, I try to remind myself: I’m not that child anymore. I try to tell myself that I have options, that I’m not stuck, that I’m stronger than I…
