Is Your Nervous System Stuck in Survival Mode?

A quick self-check for anxiety, burnout, sleep disruption, or trauma-driven stress patterns.

Reminder:

It's common to experience elements of multiple patterns, choose the best for you right now.

1. When you try to relax, what usually happens?

A

My mind keeps running through thoughts or worries.

B

I feel drained and sometimes zone out.

C

Sometimes I feel anxious, other times I completely crash.

D

I can relax without force or effort.

2. Your typical energy pattern looks like:

A

Constantly busy, but tense.

B

Low energy most of the time.

C

Bursts of productivity, followed by burnout.

D

Stable and calm.

3. When conflict happens, you tend to:

A

Overanalyze and replay the conversation.

B

Withdraw or shut down.

C

React strongly and later feel emotionally drained.

D

I feel the stress, but am able to breathe through it.

4. When you're under pressure you usually:

A

Push harder and stay alert.

B

Feel overwhelmed and want to escape.

C

Push hard for a while, then crash.

D

Remind myself to focus on my breath and take regular breaks.

5. Your relationship with sleep is usually:

A

Hard to fall asleep because my mind is active.

B

I can sleep and usually for a long time, but still feel exhausted.

C

I often wake up during the night or feel wired before bed.

D

I appreciate my sleep as much as being awake!

6. When something stressful happens your body feels:

A

Tense or restless.

B

Heavy and slow.

C

A surge of energy followed by exhaustion.

D

Feel stressed, but recover quickly.

7. When you're emotionally overwhelmed you:

A

Think about it nonstop, “My brain never stops.”

B

Detach or feel numb, “I feel emotionally drained.”

C

Feel intense emotion and then shut down, “I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster.”

D

I ALLOW help from those people and tools in my support system. I let myself feel the emotion fully and then move on, "This is intense, but it will pass and I am okay."

8. If you had to describe your internal state:

A

I often feel on edge & alert.

B

I often feel shut down & exhausted.

C

Internally I am unpredictable, I feel both wired & tired simultaneously.

D

My energy levels are relatively stable and feel balanced.

9. How do you usually feel before bed?

A

My mind starts racing as soon as I lie down.

B

I feel emotionally heavy or numb.

C

I somehow feel both exhausted and wide-awake at the same time.

D

Once I am tired, I fall asleep without major difficulty.

10. Sleep usually looks like:

A

I have extreme difficulty falling asleep.

B

I sleep... but wake up exhausted.

C

I wake up a lot through the night & have a hard time staying asleep.

D

I have occasional stressful nights, but they aren't chronic and I usually wake rested.

11. When something stressful happens, your reaction is usually:

A

Anxiety, overthinking, hyper-alert, and doomed thoughts.

B

I shut down, withdraw, and hermit away for what feels like ages.

C

I usually have a panic attack or meltdown, and end up crashing later.

D

Stress comes and goes; I recover from difficult moments fairly quickly.

12. Your energy pattern feels like:

A

Always on edge.

B

Low energy and unmotivated.

C

A surge of emotion then collapse.

D

Honestly, relatively stable.

13. When you're emotionally overwhelmed you tend to:

A

I overanalyze everything.

B

I go completely numb and detach.

C

It feels like I'm on a rollercoaster between anxiety and burnout.

D

Feeling my emotions does not cause overwhelm, I am able to reflect before reacting.

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