Feeling Nothing? Why boredom and shutdown can go hand in hand with mindfulness

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Last week I shared a video that poses the question: “Do you feel like fleeing ..when practicing mindfulness?”

THIS WEEK, we get into the polar opposite of this which is: “What if I feel nothing, am bored, and just want to look at my phone” (when I practice these mind-body practices)?

What’s fascinating is that last week and this weeks’ videos are two sides of the same coin. They represent the spectrum that is survival stress.

Last week’s is all about being caught in the fight and flight responses (feeling panic, anxiety, wanting to run, terror, and the gut sense that the world is a dangerous place and “we’re all gonna die!”). This week it’s about being trapped in the freeze response and not feeling anything: little to no emotion, rarely any body sensation, a non-existent startle response, feeling disconnected and bored with life…(or needing extreme drama, high stress, and adrenaline to feel alive).

The latter, this numbed out quality of ‘living’, IS protective and it keeps us from feeling the underlying intensity that are the fight and flight survival stresses – this is what this week’s vlog is all about so watch it now.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch last week’s video that dives into the explanation of why we might feel like fleeing when practicing mindfulness (and other mind-body practices) I hope you do. You can watch it here.

Here’s what one person said after watching:

“ The words you use to describe the sensations and the explanations of what and why they are happening really help me to understand them better and thank you for your unique mentorship towards healing ❤. ”

Next week I’m going to take this exploration a little further and explain why there is no such thing as a strange sensation, a weird feeling, or an alien-like body movement that spontaneously appears out of nowhere 🙂 .

So be on the lookout for the final video of 2019 that’ll come straight to your email here.

I am well aware that this is a time of year that for many brings great joy and for others great stress and sadness. Therefore to keep it neutral for this short moment in time I’d love to share these words from scientist, activist, and all around AMAZING human, Jane Goodall, who transformed how we understand humanity via her research with the chimpanzees in Tanzania:

“We can have a world of peace. We can move toward a world where we live in harmony with nature. Where we live in harmony with each other. No matter what nation we come from. No matter what our religion. No matter what our culture. This is where we’re moving towards.” – Her message from Peace Day 2018

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A young Jane Goodall, with Flint.

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This image comes from this video and I HIGHLY recommend the 90 seconds to watch it. (You can watch the longer version here)

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I’ve written in the past about this work – nervous system health and healing trauma – being what will change our trajectory for the better and I still believe it. I know it.

I get emails and comments from people all around the world who are feeling better, parenting better, healing stuff that was deemed not ‘fixable’ by medical standards, and just feeling more human and vital.

We are just beginning this positive turn in our evolution folks, so please keep going and don’t give up. If someone like Jane Goodall can still find hope and potential after all the horror and destruction she has witnessed in the jungles of Africa, then so can we.

If you’re looking for a riveting autobiography and a reason for hope, then I highly recommend her book, A Reason For Hope.

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Resources I Mention In The Vlog:

VLOG: Do you feel like fleeing when practicing mindfulness?

BOOK: Scattered Minds. The origins and healing of attention deficit disorder. By Gabor Maté

ARTICLE: 9 Common Human Experiences That Can Be Traumatic (but are often seen as not)

MODALITY: The work of Peter Levine, in relationship to the concept of titration

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Feeling Nothing? Why boredom and shutdown can go hand in hand with mindfulness

Feeling Nothing? Why boredom and shutdown can go hand in hand with mindfulness

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