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April 8, 2025 20 mins

This episode examines something that happened to me (Shannon Eastman) earlier today.  I bombed my podcast and inside that experience I got to see something that feels helpful to share with you. I mention my daily practice in this episode. You'll find that here > 

When someone taps into an old, unresolved emotional wound — especially one rooted in childhood dysregulation — the nervous system doesn’t recognize it as the past. It often responds as though the threat is happening now.

Here’s what typically happens in the body and nervous system:

1. Neurobiological Time Travel

The nervous system is non-verbal and non-linear.
When triggered, it reactivates the physiological and emotional patterns from the original moment, not the current reality. This is often referred to as "implicit memory" — felt, but not consciously recalled.

2. Survival State Re-Activation

Depending on how the nervous system coped back then, a person may automatically enter:

  • Fight – agitation, blame, control

  • Flight – panic, overthinking, urge to escape

  • Freeze – numbness, disconnection, inability to act

  • Fawn – people-pleasing, appeasement, self-erasure

This is not a choice — it’s the nervous system’s best attempt to protect the system with what it learned during developmental years

3. Prefrontal Shutdown

The part of the brain responsible for logic, executive function, and perspective (prefrontal cortex) goes offline. The limbic system and brainstem take over, prioritizing survival.

This is why:

  • Rationalizing doesn't help

  • Coaching feels frustrating

  • “Calm down” is ineffective


4. Physiological Distress

Common physical symptoms include:

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