Thawing Out: Surviving Functional Freeze as a Neurodivergent Black Woman

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes with living in survival mode. The kind that keeps your body moving—going to work, responding to emails, showing up for family—but your mind? It’s frozen. Numb. Stuck. That’s what they call a functional freeze, and if you’re a neurodivergent Black woman like me, chances are, you know it all too well.

But here’s what I’ve learned: functional doesn’t equal well. And you can’t heal in survival mode.