Recovering from System Collapse: Don’t Rush Recovery

(Summary) Recovering from system collapse or decompensation takes more than simply reducing demands. When your nervous system has been overwhelmed beyond its capacity, it also needs adequate time and space to recover. Although trauma survivors may be accustomed to pushing through exhaustion and overriding their limits, trying to “recover harder” can interfere with the recovery process. Giving your nervous system time to recover isn’t a pause in healing—it is part of healing.

If you want to train for a half-marathon in 6 months, would you run every day without rest days? Athletes don’t become stronger simply from training. They become stronger through the combination of training AND recovery. In the same way, your nervous system isn’t designed to function under continuous demands without adequate recovery. I think many trauma survivors expect their nervous systems to be back at full functioning after far less recovery time than they actually need.

In a recent video, I said we’d talk about increasing capacity. But as I started working on that, I realized there’s more to say about recovering from system collapse first. So over the next few videos in this series, we’re going to stay focused on recovery. Then we’ll move into how to make the most of your available capacity.

Last time we talked about reducing demands

In the recent video, I explained that system collapse, also called decompensation, happens when demands exceed capacity. The first step in addressing this is to reduce the demands as much as possible. But reducing demands is not the same as being recovered.

Recovery is part of healing

An athlete who doesn’t allow their body adequate time to recover loses their ability to perform well. The body is simply worn out. Likewise, when a nervous system decompensates, it needs time to recover from the overwhelm of demands that exceed its capacity. This recovery isn’t optional. It’s also not a pause in progress. It is actually a part of the progress. Without recovery, you will continue to function in an impaired way, at less than your full capacity.

The temptation to “recover harder”

If you’re like me, you may hear all of this and immediately think, “Okay, so how do I recover harder?” It makes sense, right? In fact, this can be a trauma response. That strategy may have helped you survive in the past. Many of us learned that whenever something is difficult the answer is to push through, keep going, ignore your limits. Many of you had no option growing up and that has become a default response.

Give yourself permission

Recovery can’t be managed in your usual way. When you push through, keep going, or ignore your limits, you are delaying or preventing recovery. Recovery, an integral part of healing, requires allowing your nervous system the time and space to recover.

If you’re starting to feel restless or impatient with recovery, that may actually be a positive sign. When people are deeply decompensated, they’re often simply trying to get through the day. The urge to do more may be a sign that your nervous system is beginning to recover. The challenge is resisting the temptation to interpret that feeling as meaning you’re ready to jump back into everything all at once. Having the mindset that this is a process, not an overnight situation, can help.

Closing

Trauma survivors are often used to gritting their teeth and pushing through. When it comes to recovering from decompensation, this only prolongs system collapse. In the next video in this series, we’ll talk about how to recognize that your nervous system is beginning to recover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is system collapse or decompensation?

System collapse describes a period when the demands placed on a person consistently exceed their available capacity, resulting in significantly impaired functioning. Decompensation is a clinical term for a decline in someone’s ability to maintain their previous level of psychological functioning.

How long does it take to recover from decompensation?

There isn’t a universal recovery timeline. How long recovery takes depends on factors such as the severity and duration of the overwhelm, continuing demands, available resources, and the individual’s current capacity. Feeling pressure to recover according to an arbitrary timeline can itself add another demand.

Why do I want to do everything as soon as I start feeling better?

When you’ve spent a period struggling just to get through everyday life, having more energy or motivation can make returning to normal activities very appealing. Trauma survivors who learned to push through difficulty may be especially inclined to interpret increased capacity as a signal to immediately resume previous demands.

Is resting the same as doing nothing during recovery?

No. Recovery is an active physiological and psychological process even when it doesn’t look productive from the outside. Just as an athlete’s body adapts and repairs during periods of recovery, reducing demands gives an overwhelmed nervous system an opportunity to regain capacity.

Can pushing myself too soon prolong system collapse?

It can. If you substantially increase demands before your capacity has recovered enough to meet them, you can recreate the same imbalance that contributed to decompensation in the first place. Feeling somewhat better does not necessarily mean your capacity has returned to its previous level.

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