"I feel totally numb. I don't care anymore, and I hate that I don't care."

"Even when I sleep, I wake up tired."

"I used to be so empathetic. Now I just want everyone to leave me alone."

What you're experiencing isn't just burnout—it's dorsal vagal shutdown.

1. Ventral Vagal (Safe Zone) ✨ Calm, connected, creative, social - where we want to be

2. Sympathetic (Fight or Flight) ⚡ Heart racing, hyperalert, frantic productivity mode

3. Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown/Freeze) 🥶 Emotional flatness, complete disconnection, life behind glass Your body playing dead like a possum

Sympathetic overdrive (constant productivity) → Dorsal collapse (complete numbness)

You're cycling between: Fixing everything frantically → Can't even get out of your car at home

The Vagus Nerve has two branches:

Dorsal shutdown creates:

This isn't weakness. This is evolution.

Your nervous system developed this over millennia. When fight/flight fails, your body chooses shutdown to conserve energy and protect you.

We live in near-constant sympathetic overdrive:

Eventually, the system flips to shutdown.

Just having words for this changes everything.

"I'm experiencing dorsal vagal shutdown." "I'm in my dorsal vagal era." "This is a nervous system state—not who I am."

Naming it is a technique for getting out of it.

Taylor Swift has fascinating eras. You have your dorsal vagal era. Nearly every burned-out physician experiences this.

The empowering news: This isn't permanent. Nervous system states change. You can climb back up the ladder.

When your partner says you're "being emotional":

"Actually, I'm experiencing dorsal vagal shutdown due to prolonged sympathetic overdrive."

Boom. Science.

How to climb out of shutdown with medical tools, therapy approaches, and daily practices.

You're not broken. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it evolved to do.

Share your stories: [email protected]

Your nervous system can heal. Let's climb together.