Is High Achievement Hiding Functional Freeze?
- Brainz Magazine
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Written by Petra Brunnbauer, Mind-Body Coach
Petra Brunnbauer is an award-winning Mind-Body Coach, founder of The Jōrni® well-being platform, and host of the globally ranked Jōrni Podcast. With a Master’s in Psychology and as a doctoral student in Mind-Body Medicine, Petra is committed to advancing holistic approaches to health and healing.
You keep showing up, taking responsibility, and doing what needs to be done. To colleagues, friends, or family, you might look like someone who has it all under control. Yet inside, your experience feels very different. You feel tired most of the time, you don’t even remember the last time you felt happy, and the days just blur into each other. What if the very habits that earn you praise are also the ones that keep you stuck?
How success can mask disconnection
You do what needs to be done. You keep to the deadlines, lead work projects, and make sure others can rely on you. On the outside, this looks like strength. People see you as capable, dependable, maybe even enviable. Yet the reality inside doesn’t match the reality on the outside. The drive that keeps you producing also leaves you feeling worn out, detached, and strangely removed from your own life.
When your nervous system is caught in Functional Freeze, you can still function at a high level, but there is an invisible cost. You’re moving, deciding, functioning, but there is an emptiness to the whole experience. Instead of feeling the satisfaction of achievement, you push right into the next demand. Instead of celebrating success, you barely notice it happened. Your outward image is a polished facade, while your inner reality is a disconnection that others do not get to see.
This is what makes Functional Freeze so difficult to recognize. You appear “fine”, driven, and even successful. But in quiet moments, you feel the gap between how others see you and how you actually feel. Aside from a constant exhaustion you feel, you have no true connection to being present in your life, and things that used to light you up are few and far between. You are functioning, yes, but the feeling of being alive in what you are doing is missing. In that way, achievement becomes the perfect cover for Functional Freeze, convincing both you and those around you that everything is fine, even when it is not.
The signs of Functional Freeze in high achievers
You may find that finishing a project doesn’t bring the surge of excitement you thought it would. Instead of pausing to enjoy the moment, your focus shifts straight to the next task waiting on the list. A colleague praises your work or a friend tells you how organized you are, yet their words barely register. You smile, move on, and the sense of achievement fades almost as soon as it arrives.
Taking a break doesn’t always feel restful. You clear your schedule, sit down to relax, and still your thoughts keep moving. Even when the workday ends, you catch yourself planning, organizing, or preparing for what comes next. Slowing down feels unfamiliar, and your body never fully gets the signal to let go.
Your own interests fade into the background. Responsibilities pile up, while the activities you once loved start to lose their draw. You still meet a friend for dinner, plan a weekend activity, or pick up a book at night, yet the connection isn’t there in the same way. After a while, you realize it’s been months since you did something simply because it felt good.
Why achievement culture keeps you stuck
Maybe you grew up hearing that hard work pays off, and that message followed you into every part of your adult life. Success is measured in what you deliver, how much you can take on, and how well you keep everything under control. The problem is that constant productivity becomes the measure of your worth. Rest, play, and even emotional expression are seen as optional rather than essential.
When you live this way for long enough, the nervous system is forced to adapt. You stay switched on, meeting deadlines and proving yourself, while feeling more and more disconnected from how you are actually doing. From the outside, it looks like drive and resilience. Inside, it can feel like a treadmill that never stops, and no amount of output makes that internal pressure let up.
Sadly, our Western culture tends to reinforce these patterns. While your friends admire your reliability, your family counts on the steadiness you bring at home, and your workplace rewards the way you always deliver, those very behaviors come at a cost. The praise feels good in the moment, but it also locks you more firmly into patterns that leave little space for rest or self-reflection. Instead of feeling supported, you end up stuck in a cycle where approval from others hides the growing toll it takes on you.
What helps you shift toward recovery
Recovery does not mean abandoning your goals or giving up on the things that matter to you. It begins with creating space to notice how you are actually doing beneath all the activity. Small moments of awareness, such as checking in with your energy, your emotions, or even your breath, can remind you that there is more to life than output. These pauses may feel insignificant at first, but they slowly signal to your nervous system that it is safe to change.
You can also experiment with introducing rest in ways that have no boundaries or rules. This might look like taking a walk without tracking the steps, spending ten minutes in silence before the next meeting, or enjoying a meal without multitasking. These moments won’t magically erase stress, but they interrupt the cycle of constant doing and give your nervous system a chance to feel back into regulation.
Support is another piece of the puzzle. Speaking with a coach, therapist, or trusted friend can help you make sense of what you are experiencing. When someone else sees the patterns you are caught in, it becomes easier to recognize them yourself. That recognition is often the first step toward change. As you become more aware, attention shifts toward the basics that keep you supported. Making room for rest, allowing yourself to be present, and choosing conscious connection bring a shift to life that feels more balanced and alive.
Redefining success on your own terms
Success has often been defined by output, speed, and consistency. You are measured by what you deliver and how well you hold everything together. Over time, those measures stop reflecting what actually matters to you. The milestones you reach may look impressive, yet if they leave you exhausted or disconnected, they may not feel like success at all.
Redefining success means shifting the focus inward. Instead of chasing only external approval, you begin to ask what brings a sense of meaning, satisfaction, and connection. That could be creating more space for relationships, valuing time for rest, or choosing work that feels aligned with your deeper values. What you discover is that success is not lost. It takes on a form that includes your well-being.
Living this way does not remove the challenges of daily life. It changes how you meet them. You recognize that rest supports achievement rather than competes with it. You learn that joy and presence belong alongside productivity. And you begin to see that real success is measured not only in what you accomplish but in how alive you feel while doing it.
When you are ready to let go of constant pressure and open to what it feels like to be fully present, you can begin to imagine a different way of living. This is the moment to start. Explore The Functional Freeze Formula for tools, practices, and support designed to help you move beyond Functional Freeze and live with more energy, connection, and joy.
Petra Brunnbauer, Mind-Body Coach
Petra Brunnbauer is an award-winning Mind-Body Coach, founder of The Jōrni® well-being platform, and host of the globally ranked Jōrni Podcast. With a Master’s in Psychology and as a doctoral student in Mind-Body Medicine, Petra is committed to advancing holistic approaches to health and healing.
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