Why Your Body Thinks The Future Is A Bear

Think about the last time you felt a genuine sense of 'impending doom' while looking at a spreadsheet or a calendar. Your palms got sweaty, your breath turned shallow, and suddenly you felt like you had to run a marathon or punch a wall. This is the 'fight or flight' response, and while it was great for our ancestors when they were being chased by actual predators, it is a bit of a disaster when it is triggered by an email about a project deadline. Your body does not know the difference between a grizzly bear and a looming career choice. It just knows it feels unsafe.

When you stay in this state for too long, it becomes your 'new normal,' which leads to that persistent feeling of being fried. You might find yourself snapping at your friends or feeling totally numb to things you used to love. This is often a sign of functional freeze. Your nervous system has decided that since it can't fight the future and it can't run away from it, it should just shut down the systems to conserve energy. It is like your laptop fan spinning at maximum speed while the screen stays black. You are exhausted but wired, a paradoxical state that feels impossible to escape.

One of the most effective ways to break this cycle is through temperature. If you feel a panic attack or a massive wave of overwhelm coming on, splash ice-cold water on your face or hold an ice cube in your hand. This triggers the mammalian dive reflex, which instantly slows your heart rate and shifts you back into a parasympathetic state. It is a hard reset for your internal computer. It forces the system to stop worrying about the 'what ifs' of next month and focus entirely on the freezing sensation in the present moment.

Mindfulness isn't just sitting cross-legged on a floor covered in incense smoke. It can be as simple as noticing the way your feet feel inside your shoes while you are walking to the train. This is called proprioception—the sense of where your body is in space. When you are overwhelmed by the future, you are essentially 'living' in your head, which is a very unstable neighborhood. By focusing on the physical sensations of your feet hitting the pavement, you anchor yourself in the now. You are reminding your nervous system that you are physically present and accounted for.

Don't let the pressure to be 'on' 24/7 trick you into thinking that rest is a luxury. Rest is a biological requirement. If you don't pick a time to regulate your nervous system, your body will eventually pick a time for you, and it usually involves a total burnout. You are allowed to take up space without being 'productive.' You are allowed to exist without having a five-year plan that is carved in stone. Sometimes, the most revolutionary thing you can do is just sit in a park and watch the way the light hits the grass.

Tonight, try to give yourself a break from the digital noise. Turn off the notifications and let your eyes rest on something that isn't a screen. The future is coming, whether you worry about it or not, so you might as well arrive there well-rested. Your value is not determined by how much stress you can carry. It is determined by how well you can care for the human being living inside your skin.

Northwestern Ontario Arts, Culture and Recreation

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