How To Calm Down Fast When You're Stressed!

Have you ever frozen during a tough moment—unable to speak, act, or respond—and later wondered, “Why didn’t I do something?” You're not broken. You were protecting yourself.

In this powerful episode of Why It Hurts and How to Heal, Dr. Melanie Carlo explores the misunderstood freeze response—what it is, why it happens, and most importantly, how to gently return to safety and flow. Through breathwork, touch, vagus nerve activation, and somatic awareness, she offers practical tools to help your nervous system move out of freeze and back into presence—without pushing or forcing.

🌀 What You’ll Learn in This Video
✅ Why the freeze response is an intelligent survival strategy
✅ How freeze can look invisible—but feel overwhelming inside
✅ The role of the vagus nerve in restoring regulation
✅ Somatic practices that thaw frozen energy and restore vitality
✅ A powerful “Oh My God” neurovascular hold to bring back calm
✅ How to begin reparenting the parts of you that froze in fear

✨ Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: The Invisible Freeze
02:10 – Why Freeze Isn’t a Failure
04:00 – How Freeze Becomes a Pattern
06:05 – Shame, Guilt & The Aftermath of Inaction
08:00 – How to Restore Flow with Breath, Touch & Awareness
09:15 – Practice 1: Vagus Nerve Breathing (“Voo” Breath)
11:00 – Practice 2: Energy Medicine Freeze Reset
13:10 – Practice 3: Neurovascular “Oh My God” Hold
15:15 – Practice 4: Forehead & Heart Bridge for Guilt
16:40 – A Message for Anyone Who Feels Numb
17:30 – What’s Coming Next: Journaling & Deep Somatic Repatterning

📌 If you’ve ever felt numb, stuck, or like you missed your moment—this video is for you. You are not broken. Your body did exactly what it needed to do to survive. Now, it's time to let that protector soften.

👉 Please like, comment, and subscribe for more body-based healing tools. Let us know in the comments: What helps you come back from freeze?

Hashtags:
#FreezeResponse #SomaticHealing #VagusNerveHealing #TraumaRecovery #NervousSystemReset #FightFlightFreeze #BodyBasedHealing

ABOUT DR. MELANIE CARLONE
Hi, I’m Dr. Melanie Carlone, a physical therapist and health educator specializing in movement therapy, holistic healing, and sustainable wellness. My goal is to help you relieve pain, restore mobility, and create a healthier, more balanced life—inside and out.

With over 30 years of experience, I blend science-based physical therapy with integrative approaches like somatic retraining, mindfulness, and environmental health. I believe true healing begins with presence—calming the nervous system and restoring alignment in body, mind, and spirit.

I’m also the co-founder of ThePivot.Earth, a regenerative systems initiative that partners with communities to restore living soil, strengthen local leadership, and design large-scale, values-driven projects. We don’t tell people what to do—we collaborate with transformational leaders to help communities thrive from the ground up.

Connect with Dr. Carlone
🌐 Website: https://www.alignrenewthrive.com/
📍 Location: Eugene, Oregon
📧 Contact: Email Dr. Carlone
📸 Instagram: @align.renew.thrive
🧘 More Resources: ThePivot.Earth – Sustainable Health Collaboration
https://thepivot.earth/

🌱 ThePivot.Earth is a collaborative initiative co-founded by Dr. Melanie Carlone that helps communities regenerate land, strengthen connection, and transform systems—starting with shared values.