In the Void: The State of Chronic Threat

When the System Shuts Down, and Nothing Seems to Work

There’s a state deeper than fatigue. Deeper than freeze. Deeper than disconnection.

Photo by Michael Mouritz

It’s not just that you can’t do things. It’s that your system can’t integrate change—even when it’s something you want, something you used to love, or something that should be helping.

This is the Void. A state of chronic internal threat where your system is conserving energy, buffering sensation, and protecting you from more than your conscious mind may realize.

What the Void Feels Like

It might show up as:

• Feeling invisible, untouchable, or unreachable

• Having no drive, joy, or emotional access

• Dread or disinterest trying anything new—even helpful things

• Physical collapse after doing too much—or anything at all

• Going through the motions – then quick to anger when provoked

• A sense of floating, detachment, or “nothingness”

• Hopelessness that doesn’t shift, even when you rest, even when you try

• Feeling like you’re not in time with the world anymore

People in the Void often say: “I don’t know how to get back to myself.” “I’m tired of trying.” "Nothing seems to work, nothing sticks." “I feel like life is happening around me, not to me.”

The Void Is a State—Not a Diagnosis

Most systems don’t know how to recognize or work with this state. They see the fatigue, the trauma, the symptoms. But not the pattern underneath: the inability to integrate nourishment, connection, and change.

The Void is not something you can fix with effort. It’s not a mindset issue. It’s not resistance. It’s a natural, brilliant shutdown that happens when your system decides that staying open is too risky.

It’s different than freeze, which still holds potential for quick reactivation. The Void is what happens after long-term disconnection, when the system doesn’t even know how to receive anymore.

How HigherCx Works with the Void

In HigherCx, we don’t try to push people out of the Void. We listen to the body’s wisdom and follow the cues of the system.

Using Client-Centered Muscle Response Feedback, we:

• Identify where the system is still in chronic threat

• Trace the unique sequence of imbalances that led to the shutdown

• Restore key circuits of regulation, energy, and proprioception

• Reconnect the self with the body—not forcefully, but naturally

This allows the system to:

• Reopen to receive energy (chi) from light, food, movement, and connection

• Begin integrating again

• Restore the felt sense of “I’m here, and I’m healing”

Clients often describe this shift as: “I finally feel energy moving again.” “My body is responding.” “I feel like myself.” “I have hope.”

If You’re in the Void, You’re Not Alone

The Void is more common than we think—especially post-COVID, post-trauma, and after repeated failed attempts to heal.

It’s a powerful state that, when met with respect and the right support, can shift into something new.

We’re currently running a study on HigherCx for Long COVID and symptoms of the Void. If this speaks to your experience, click here to learn more or join the waitlist. ➔ [Long COVID Research Study »]

You are not stuck. You are in a state. And you can return your body's natural ability to heal and integrate. Sara McRae

Founder, Zenbrio House | Creator of HigherCx Restorative Facilitation