July 11, 2026

Why Dismissive Avoidants Feel Frozen in Life

1 hour 23 minutes

Access Our Overcoming Burnout and Chronic Stress Course and the Other Courses* Mentioned in This Episode With a Trial to the Personal Development School:

https://attachment.personaldevelopmentschool.com/dream-life?utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=7-day-trial&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=pod-07-11-26&el=podcast

Have you ever felt completely frozen in life; unable to move forward even though you know exactly what you "should" be doing?

For many people, this isn't laziness or a lack of motivation. It's a nervous system response rooted in unresolved core wounds, unmet needs, and chronic burnout.

In this episode of The Breakthrough with Thais Gibson, Thais works with Him, who shares his experience with functional freeze, burnout, ADHD, perfectionism, and the deep shame that developed from feeling "defective." Together, they uncover how early experiences, unmet emotional needs, and a career misaligned with his natural strengths contributed to chronic nervous system dysregulation.

You'll also learn practical tools for identifying your own core wounds, rewiring limiting beliefs, regulating your nervous system, and creating a life that's aligned with your authentic needs instead of societal expectations.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

✔️ Why chronic burnout often has emotional, not just physical, causes

✔️ How unmet subconscious needs can create resistance and freeze responses

✔️ The connection between shame, perfectionism, and functional freeze

✔️ Why feeling "defective" keeps people stuck in self-sabotaging cycles

✔️ How ADHD, hyperfocus, and nervous system regulation intersect

✔️ The neuroscience behind core wound rewiring

✔️ Practical strategies for moving out of dorsal vagal shutdown

✔️ How aligning your career with your authentic needs can restore motivation and purpose

Timestamps

00:00 – Why unmet needs lead to burnout and freeze mode

00:57 – Introducing today's coaching session on chronic burnout

02:18 – Him shares his childhood and immigration story

09:42 – The first experience of functional freeze in university

14:40 – Rewiring the "I'm defective" core wound

24:52 – Why career misalignment fuels burnout

27:26 – Finding work that aligns with your subconscious needs

37:54 – Why shame keeps the freeze cycle alive

46:06 – Building evidence against the "I'm defective" story

*Courses Mentioned in This Episode:

Discover, Embrace and FulFill Your Personal Needs Course

Somatic Processing & Nervous System Regulation Course

Overcoming Burnout and Chronic Stress (Webinar Course)

Meet the Host

Thais Gibson is the founder of The Personal Development School and a world leader in attachment theory. With a Ph.D. and over a dozen certifications, she’s helped more than 70,000 people reprogram their subconscious and build thriving relationships.

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