What If Your Content Block Isn’t Laziness, But a Nervous System Response?
If you’ve ever sat down to write a post and suddenly felt the need to redesign your homepage or clean your camera roll, this one’s for you.
Because what if your content block isn’t a productivity issue,
but a nervous system issue?
The Content Creation Cycle No One Talks About
Last week, in a live session with The Divorce Allies, we explored how the four common trauma responses — fight, flight, freeze, and fawn — show up during life transitions like divorce.
But something clicked.
I realized those same patterns are showing up in my clients too, and in myself, when it comes to creating and sharing content.
Here’s how I see it:
Flight: “I’ll just tweak my logo again instead of posting anything.”
Fight: “Why am I not further along? I should’ve built a full content library by now.”
Freeze: “I have so many ideas, I don’t even know where to start.”
Fawn: “What if someone thinks I’m full of myself? I don’t want to annoy people…”
Sound familiar?
You’re Not Lazy. Your Body Might Be Trying to Protect You.
Putting your thoughts, face, and voice online isn’t natural, at least not biologically.
This kind of visibility used to be reserved for public figures.
Now, as business owners, we’re expected to be the brand, and the result is that our nervous systems often pump the brakes in the name of safety.
So the avoidance, procrastination, or overthinking?
It’s not weird. It’s not weakness. It’s your brain doing its job.
How to Work With Your Nervous System Instead of Against It
Let’s break it down. Here's how these responses might show up and what you can gently try in response:
Flight
Pattern: You avoid posting by staying busy — rebranding, reorganizing, starting a new doc.
Try this: Set a 10-minute timer. Write down one idea you’d be excited to share. No design tools. No editing.
Freeze
Pattern: You feel overwhelmed by ideas and can’t decide where to start.
Try this: Do a 5-minute brain dump. Write every recent client question, topic idea, or sentence that’s been floating in your head. Step away. Come back to it tomorrow.
Fawn
Pattern: You dilute your message, hoping to please everyone and avoid judgment.
Try this: Write a caption as if you’re texting your favorite client. Let your real voice come through.
Or run your draft through AI and ask it to flag fear-based language or a passive tone.
Fight
Pattern: You spiral, telling yourself you should be further along or should’ve posted more by now.
Try this: Write down a recent win or piece of kind feedback. Turn that into a one-line post. No overthinking. Just share it.
You Deserve to Be Seen In a Way That Feels Safe and True to You
The goal isn’t to force yourself into polished influencer energy.
The goal is flow — showing up in a way that feels clear, aligned, and consistent.
I created a free downloadable guide if you want to dig into this further.
It includes:
Examples of each trauma response
Simple reframes and low-pressure solutions
Prompts and affirmations to help you reconnect to your voice
Space to map out your next content move
You can download it here, or just message me and I’ll send it your way.
You can also check out a video I created walking you through some of these tendencies. Watch here.
Final Thought
You don’t have to hustle your way into visibility.
There’s space for you online, exactly as you are.
And you’re allowed to take a gentler path there.
Let me know which of the four shows up for you the most when it’s time to post.