Trauma & Chronic Freeze: Why Anxiety Means You’re Healing

In this first episode of The Truth My Body Told, Danielle Bird (Licensed Counselling Therapist & Somatic Attachment Trauma Recovery Coach) breaks down why you can’t just “snap out of” chronic freeze, and why feeling anxiety when you try to move is actually a positive sign of healing.

Drawing on Polyvagal Theory and nearly seven years of client work, Danielle explains:

• What the Polyvagal Ladder is and how it relates to chronic freeze
• Why anxiety is a normal part of climbing out of dorsal vagal shutdown
• Practical steps to move with your body, discharge energy, and create safety
• How to talk directly to the parts of yourself that hold trauma patterns

💌 Want to submit a question for the “If You Were My Client” series? Email Danielle at [email protected] or connect on socials @thedaniellebird.

✨ Danielle’s upcoming course Create Safety in Your Nervous System ($87) teaches you how to do this step by step. Join the waitlist via this link: https://www.daniellebird.com/

✨ Book a 15 min free consult to work together here: https://calendly.com/birddaniellee/radical-rebirth-application?month=2025-09

🌹 The TikTok video referenced: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMAj8tP3f/

Covers the following question: "“This is exactly me. But if I even try to move, literally or figuratively [out of chronic freeze], I get a huge anxiety response. It’s truly exhausting.”

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