Getting Un-Frozen

Everyone has a Stress Response Style

And needless to say, these are some stressful times…


The three most well-known responses to danger or stress are:

  1. FIGHT

  2. FLIGHT

  3. FREEZE


I’m a ‘FREEZER’

Now in case you’re picturing me standing like a stone statue in the middle of my living room with my eyes glazed over like a deer in the headlights — it’s not quite that dramatic.

It’s way more subtle than that.

I’m just not motivated to do anything right now that doesn’t absolutely have to be done.

I don’t feel creative at all…

And I feel kind of overwhelmed and paralyzed…


And I know that’s not good.

So here’s what I’m doing to try to stay physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy during our current crisis:

  1. EXERCISE I normally walk 4 miles a day. And I work out (at home) twice a week. I know that exercise is great for reducing stress and anxiety so I’m committed to keeping up with it even if I don’t feel like it right now.

  2. TAKE A SHOWER AND GET DRESSED I work at home in front of a computer so I don’t dress the way I would if I worked somewhere else. But I do keep myself up and try to look nice every day. I go for comfort so I wear a lot of yoga pants with sweaters and jeans with nice tops. And shoes! I don’t know why but for me, I only feel half-dressed if I wear my slippers all day. So I have a few pairs of sneakers that I wear around the house that are super cute and comfortable.

  3. TURN OFF THE NEWS I’m not saying to bury our heads in the sand but a constant loop of the news right now can be stress and anxiety-producing. I occasionally watch the presidential press conferences but for the most part, I just check my County’s COVID-19 website every couple of days for the accurate information that I need.

  4. WATCH SOMETHING ELSE Find a show you like and watch an episode (or two) each evening. Or a good movie. Sometimes we really just need a good distraction.

  5. SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH THE PEOPLE IN YOUR HOME Play games, go for walks or play in the yard. Put together a puzzle. Or just sit and talk.

  6. STAY IN TOUCH Just because we’re isolating doesn’t mean we have to be isolated. Call or FaceTime your family and friends. My personal recommendation is to actually talk to them. Don’t text or email. There’s something about having a live conversation that’s so much better than a written one.

  7. COLD SHOWERS OK — this one is not for sissies!

    In the ’50s and ’60s, my grandmother lived on the beach. Every day she would get out of bed, have a glass of orange juice, put on her bathing suit and jump into the ocean. Then she would swim around for about 15 minutes. (Now I don’t know what the temperature of the Pacific Ocean was but I can guarantee you, it wasn’t like bathwater!) When she was done, she would walk out of the waves completely invigorated for the rest of her day.

    A couple of years ago, I was in kind of a funk and I read about the benefits of taking a cold shower. It increases endorphins. It helps improve your metabolism. It improves circulation. It can help your resistance to common illnesses like cold and flu.

    I did this for several months and I couldn’t believe how much better I felt.

    So here’s how to do it —

    Take a shower with regular shower-temp water but just before rinsing, crank the water to COLD. Then rinse. Try not to wrap your arms around yourself but open up to the cold water hitting your front and then turn around and let it hit your back. Try not to hold your breath, but breathe through it.

    The research I’ve seen says that any temperature below 70 degrees for 2 - 3 minutes is beneficial. You can also start with just slightly cool water and condition yourself to go a little colder each day. Of course, you’re going to want to check with your doctor to make sure you’re healthy enough to do this.

  8. CHANGE MY THINKING ‘Coincidentally’ all of my devotionals that I’ve been reading for the last several days have been about ‘Don’t worry at all about tomorrow…’ ‘Don’t be anxious about anything but pray with gratitude in every situation…’ ‘Think about what is true…’ ‘Be thankful and call on God in your struggles…’ It can’t get any clearer to me how God wants me to respond in this season of uncertainty.

    So here’s what I’m focusing on —

    1. LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME I will try to focus on today, not tomorrow. No worrying about the future. C.S. Lewis says: We must try to take life moment by moment. The actual present is usually pretty tolerable I think, if we only refrain from adding to its burden that of the past and the future.’ Good advice

    2. THINKING ONLY ABOUT WHAT IS TRUE No ‘what-if’??’s. I will think about what is true right now —My family and I are healthy and safe.

    3. PRACTICING GRATITUDE I will be mindful of and thankful for everyone and everything in my life.

    4. TRUSTING I tend to want to be in control of everything. The problem with that is — trust and control can’t coexist. Either you can have control or you can have trust. But you can’t have both. So I’m choosing to trust and pray that God will see us through.

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Matt. 6:34 Phil. 4:6-8 Psalm 50:14 Is. 12:2-3


Stay healthy and well, my friends.









Kim SmithComment