Is it ADHD or a Chronic Freeze Response?
If you’ve ever wondered whether your struggles with focus, motivation, or shutdown are from ADHD or a chronic freeze response from ongoing stress — you’re not the only one. These two experiences can feel remarkably similar on the surface, but they stem from different roots and require different healing approaches.
Let’s unpack the overlap, the difference, and how to support your system if you relate to both.
What ADHD and Freeze Have in Common
Many women — especially those who are highly sensitive, creative, or neurodivergent — find themselves caught in cycles of:
Mental fog and trouble focusing
Procrastination or paralysis when facing decisions
Emotional overwhelm and shutdown
Difficulty following through on plans
Sensitivity to feelings of rejection
These are often labeled as symptoms of ADHD — and sometimes they are. But they can also be signs of a chronic freeze response in the nervous system.
Freeze is a survival response — a full-body “shut down” that happens when fight or flight isn’t available or hasn’t worked. It’s common in people with a history of stress, emotional invalidation, or attachment wounding.
Both ADHD and freeze affect the executive functioning system in the brain — but they come from different origins.
Key Differences Between ADHD and Chronic Freeze
ADHD:
Neurological condition present from early development in childhood
Difficulty regulating attention and hyperactivity
Often includes restlessness or impulsivity
Can improve with stimulant medication
Chronic Freeze Response:
Nervous system adaptation to chronic stress or threat
Lack of energy, motivation, or responsiveness
Often includes numbness, shutdown, or dissociation
Improves with somatic therapies that regulate the nervous system
Some people may experience both. For example, someone with ADHD may also have a history of trauma that causes their nervous system to enter freeze under pressure — leading to a unique blend of symptoms.
Why it’s Important to Know the Difference
If you only treat your symptoms as ADHD, you might:
Push yourself with structure and pressure when your system actually needs gentleness
Internalize shame when executive functioning tools don’t work
Feel like you’re lazy, broken, or unmotivated
When we recognize the freeze response, we can meet it with nervous system tools that bring relief — not more pressure.
Healing Paths That Support Both
In my integrative therapy practice, I help women with ADHD symptoms, chronic stress, and emotional overwhelm get to the root of their struggles using:
EMDR to reprocess early moments of shame, overwhelm, or helplessness that conditioned the freeze response
Safe and Sound Protocol to regulate the vagus nerve and shift the body out of chronic shut down
Somatic therapy approaches that build capacity for distress and reintroduce a sense of safety in small doses
Healing isn’t about forcing yourself to function — it’s about helping your system feel safe enough to come back online.
Work With Me
I offer online holistic therapy for women across California — including Encinitas, Carmel Valley, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, and the Bay Area — who are seeking nervous system-based support for ADHD symptoms, chronic freeze, and emotional burnout.
Click here to learn more about working with a holistic psychotherapist in California.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or therapeutic advice. Reading this post does not establish a therapist-client relationship. If you are seeking clinical support, please visit somaticspiritualtherapist.com for more information about therapy services available to California residents.