 When you think survival mode, it's natural to think of a sudden animal attack or So when you find you're not getting things done or the dishes are pulling up you usually schooled yourself for being lazy Because as far as you know, there really aren't crocodiles in the toilet But did you know your body will go into survival mode activating the lizard part of your brain if Anything overloads it to indicate your demise might be imminent. This can include things like prolonged grief Severe abuse or prolonged burnout. This survival state is like booting in safe mode essential functions only Not sure if you're in survival mode or just lazy Here are some signs to help you tell the difference number one lack of focus or What what happened? Where am I did you just read that page ten times and still don't know what it was about People call your name and you don't hear them. You're so zoned out You can't seem to get anything done even though you're normally pretty good with this You just might be in survival mode instead of being lazy Your higher function brain is getting shut down in favor of base survival So that project or calculus homework is just not getting the priority for thinking juice number two We're getting basic needs You look at yourself and realize I Haven't brushed my teeth today, and I haven't showered for three days. Did I eat today? Being in survival mode leaves you feeling drained and unable to perform your daily activities Well, due to a lack of physical and emotional resources Number three you feel more tired than expected all the time Do you feel exhausted even though you haven't done anything strenuous? You haven't been to a bootcamp and you aren't training for the Olympics yet You're starting to relate to Han Solo's stacking carbonite both physically and mentally This could well be survival mode trying to conserve energy You feel tired so survival mode screams conserve energy stay still sleep But that ends up making you feel even more tired So the lizard brain continues trying to make you conserve energy the only way it knows how Number four you're reacting more emotionally than usual Whether you're normally chill or a natural manic pixie You know when you're more reactive than normal if you've found yourself getting snappy or lashing out at things that mean nothing to you Or found yourself bursting out into tears for no reason whatsoever. There's a good chance. This is survival brain at work When you're in survival mode our brains react impulsively in order to keep us alive It tries to convince us that if we use executive functioning skills to process the information safety will not be guaranteed number five Wait, what was the point again? Oh? memory issues Have you ever felt that you have no idea and don't even remember what you were doing yesterday? You might feel disconnected and foggy and if anyone asks you something simple Something you know, you know, and your only response is a blank stare because you can't remember Survival brain trauma can affect your memory and make remembering the who what wears of your daily life very difficult And number six you can only consider one task at a time Normally you're a multitasking superpower You can write a paper while listening to an audiobook and sneak in regular sips of coffee Except lately you can't In fact, the only way you can do anything right now is considering one task at a time Get in line single file, please Just like putting your smartphone on battery save remote so it doesn't have background What not's going on and isn't doing multiple things like messages emails and scheduling checks all at once Your brain is going into brain battery saving mode Speed has been reduced and multitasking is no longer possible Let's sum it up with a quote from author Nakea Homer You are not lazy Unmotivated or stuck after years of living in survival mode. You are exhausted. There's a difference Superficially being in a survival mode can resemble our perceived notions of being lazy This is why it's so important to find out why certain actions or inactions are happening Is it really conscious avoidance or are they just trying to cling to life? Perhaps not even knowing they're doing what they're doing What we do know is that being in constant survival mode is neither healthy nor happy So it's necessary to clear out that which ails us by making small changes Seeing a professional can also help us get started on this journey Did any of these points click with you? What kind of insight has it given on something you've seen or heard in yourself or someone else? Share or discuss and comment. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for watching and see you soon