Flight, Fight, Freeze & Folk-Medicine... Part 1

When the Helper Needed Help.

For the past 15 years I have taught some extension of nervous system regulation. My work involves guiding people towards greater calm and resilience using tools like yoga, dance, creative movement, and mindset.

Yet, for weeks, I was stuck. My body, which I’ve spent years understanding, felt completely locked down. I couldn’t access my usual methods to regulate.

You’d think my training in somatic practices would offer a quick escape from shutdown. But freeze is biological. It doesn’t care about your expertise. It’s a primal survival response when the system is overwhelmed. It’s not a failure of skill, but a powerful protective mechanism.

My usual energy dimmed. Physically, I felt disconnected, as if behind glass. My breath was shallow, my limbs heavy. Simple tasks felt impossible. As a person who identifies with my physicality I was so frustrated that I couldnt feel my fire.

The frustration was knowing what to do but being unable to do it. My mind knew calming techniques, but I couldn’t connect to them. Shame arose – how could I help others when I was so stuck?

I understood that maybe because of the last years I've had with extensive travel, a divorce and relocating to a new country that I needed a break, or I was possibly in "burnout". But I had arrived to a space where I could "take some time off" and now I couldnt relax? My thoughts were whirling, everything on my list was important yet what was the point, I hated this feeling, I wanted to run away somewhere else, outside myself.

I asked myself one day " what do I need here, I need to do SOMETHING" and I responded to myself... " I need Help".

This is not a usual conclusion for me. I pride myself on being the solid one that is the pillar of help when everyone else needs. However at this point my ego had become so tired that I could accept... yes, it's me that needs help.

I knew how it had come to be, my last 8 months I had traveled to over 20 cities ( some more than once) and 6 countries, with no routine, schedule or any type of anchor. The icing ( no pun intended) on this deep freeze was clear. I had experienced some extended family staying with me over the month of Ramadan and the deep wounds from our traumatic childhood that I usually do such a great job of avoiding were front and centre with me all month. Being in an already stressed (fight or flight) my nervous system had only one more place to turn : FREEZE.

I called my energy doctor, I knew a usual session could help calm me and I could hopefully think more clearly. But the Energy doctor gave me a different perspective... " Your system is in freeze..... That's why you feel like this." And this completely reframed it for me : my system wasn’t stuck, but protecting me. However, long-term protection becomes a trap and can make us feel worse and worse which is what my presnt state was I realized my usual tools weren’t enough.

I realized what I was looking for was to disrupt the loop that my nervous system was stuck in both mentally and physically.... it was time for an intentional journey into altered states of consciousness. A journey to our subconcious mind aiming to disrupt the entrenched patterns of my nervous system and access deeper layers of emotional and somatic holding.

 The turning point involved exploring a different avenue, one I hadn’t considered in this context: a psychedelic intervention.

Ancient Egyptian Folk Medicine

The experience itself was profound and challenging, far beyond the scope of typical nervous system regulation techniques I employed. It involved a temporary dissolution of my usual ego boundaries and a direct confrontation with deeply held tensions and unprocessed emotions that seemed to be contributing to the freeze state.

The psychedelic acted as a catalyst, temporarily loosening the rigid grip of my protective mechanisms, allowing for a different kind of processing and release.

Within 30 minutes of ingesting I started to feel my body wanting to move. Ouuff finally I thought, I can actually breathe.

I felt all the places in my physical body that had had numbness come back to life, I was out of my head and in my body, it was magnificent. I felt my diaphragm release, I could finally take a full deep breath.

The return wasn't a sudden cure, but a gradual reawakening. In the immediate aftermath, there was a heightened sensitivity, a raw vulnerability. But slowly, shifts began to occur. The feeling of being behind glass started to dissipate. My breath deepened. The heaviness in my limbs began to lift. It wasn't the gentle, familiar unwinding of a somatic exercise, but a more profound and sometimes turbulent recalibration.

Emotions, long held captive, began to surface with a new intensity. One day, tears flowed freely, not from frustration, but from a deep sense of release and a reconnection to my core self. It felt like a system reboot, offering a new perspective and a pathway out of the long-standing freeze.

After my first session I then went to my osteopath. Your diaphraghms are locked up she said, what happened to you.... life I responded...She gave treatment and I could breathe even more deeply. And from this spring board I was able to think more clearly. Time to let my nervous system know it's safe, I realized. With a nice routine at home, just me my plants and me.

bringing in balance

This experience underscored that freeze is a powerful survival strategy, not a personal failing. Sometimes, the way out requires exploring unconventional doors, ones we might never have imagined opening. For me, psychedelic intervention served as that unexpected key, offering a unique opportunity to disrupt deeply ingrained patterns and facilitate a return to regulation that my traditional methods alone couldn't achieve.

This journey has fundamentally changed my understanding of trauma and the nervous system. It has deepened my empathy and broadened my perspective on healing. While psychedelic intervention isn't a universal solution, for me, it was a crucial catalyst.

Some situations demand unconventional solutions.

If you're interested in hearing more about this specific part of my journey and the insights I gained, especially regarding the responsible and ethical use of psychedelic interventions in healing, I invite you to join my inner circle comming soon . I share more personal reflections and nuanced perspectives there.

Thanks for being here.

Nawal El Tememi