
What Freeze Actually Looks Like in Girls and Why We Often Miss It: Understanding Girls' Mental Health
From Teen Whisperer Podcast: Girls Mental Health & Behaviour by Rach Friedli - Girls Mental Health & Behaviour Specialist
February 18, 2026 · 12 min · Episode 71
About this episode
This episode explores the freeze response in girls and its implications for understanding their mental health.
Send us Fan Mail If you believe anxiety in girls only looks like panic and restlessness, think again. In this episode, I explore an often overlooked aspect of girls' mental health: the freeze response. When your daughter can't get out of bed, refuses to eat, or becomes withdrawn and silent, it’s not laziness, it's a biological survival mechanism known as the dorsal vagal shutdown. I'll help you understand adolescent behaviour better by showing why freeze is frequently mistaken for depre...
People in this episode
Host: Rach Friedli
Topics covered
- girls' mental health
- freeze response
- anxiety
- adolescent behavior
- dorsal vagal shutdown
Keywords
- freeze response
- anxiety in girls
- mental health
- adolescent behavior
- dorsal vagal shutdown
More episodes of Teen Whisperer Podcast: Girls Mental Health & Behaviour
- Sleep, Anxiety & Teen Girl Mental Health | What Parents Miss · June 10, 2026 · 19 min
- Teen Girl Behaviour | Reading Her Nervous System Signals · June 3, 2026 · 15 min
- Co-Regulation Starts With You | Why Your Nervous System Matters · May 27, 2026 · 18 min
- Why Teen Girls Can’t Put Their Phones Down | The Nervous System Angle · May 20, 2026 · 18 min
- Parenting Teen Girls & Phone Anxiety | Why Limits Alone Don't Work · May 13, 2026 · 16 min
- Teen Girls Anxiety: Why Nothing Has Worked And What Actually Does · May 6, 2026 · 15 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Teen Whisperer Podcast: Girls Mental Health & Behaviour podcast page.