Chronic Stress

There is a particular kind of frustration that shows up when someone has done the work and their body has not followed. They understand their stress. They can name what is happening. They can't relax, despite actively trying. And yet their shoulders stay tight, their jaw continues to clench, and their breathing never quite settles into something that feels easeful. 
Your body holds tension even when you try to relax because the nervous system continues patterns of activation that don’t automatically turn off when stress ends. At some point, the question shifts from “What am I missing?” to something more confusing: “Why is my body still doing this when I am not?”