Activities and Ending The Push-Crash Cycle
For many people with chronic illness, the idea of “doing nothing until you feel better” is not only unhelpful — it can make things worse. Doctors may have told you to rest constantly, but endless stillness can keep you stuck in a frozen state, reinforcing fatigue and symptoms rather than easing them.
The healing path is not just about avoiding strain — it’s about learning how to engage with life in a way that supports your nervous system. Activities can create small shifts in energy, reconnecting you to yourself and your environment without overwhelming your system.
This article will help you begin to identify activities appropriate for your current state and explain why it matters to keep active for healing.
Why Activity Helps ANS Regulation
Recovery from chronic illness is deeply tied to nervous system regulation, brain rewiring and heart-based healing. Many people live in a state of fight, flight, or freeze, where rest doesn’t feel restoring, and activity feels exhausting. This is why we need the right kind of engagement — one that signals safety to the nervous system, and one that isn’t driven by “push” energy.
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) has two main branches:
- Sympathetic (fight-or-flight): Keeping you on high alert.
- Parasympathetic (rest-and-digest): Supporting restoration and healing.
When the nervous system is dysregulated, and the brain is fixed into certain neural pathways, the system can get stuck in shutdown (freeze), making every activity, every movement feel impossible.
Even though they feel so difficult, some connection and engagement can be the very things to help shift the nervous system and brain towards balance.
Neuroplasticity research shows that even small, repeated actions create new neural pathways — so even one minute of a somatic healing activity or listening to a piece of music can start shifting patterns of fatigue, dissociation, or hopelessness.
💡 Research shows:
Polyvagal Theory explains that connection – to self, others, or nature – is essential for shifting from a frozen state into a more regulated one.
Gabor Maté’s work discusses how suppressed chronic stress creates patterns of nervous system dysregulation, making gentle re-engagement with life absolutely critical for healing.
Isolation keeps people stuck, while small acts of self-compassion and engagement rebuild a sense of wholeheartedness and safety.
Every step — no matter how small — is meaningful. Trust in the process. You are doing beautifully.
What is The Push-Crash Cycle
The push-crash cycle is a pattern many people with chronic illness find themselves trapped in — one where bursts of activity are followed by periods of extreme fatigue, worse symptoms and pain – something often called a “flare-up” or “crash”. It is generally thought to happen when someone pushes through symptoms on a “good” day, trying to get as much done as possible, only to collapse afterwards, sometimes for days, weeks, or even longer. This cycle reinforces the belief that energy is unpredictable and that any movement forward or expansion of activity comes at a cost. But the real issue is that the nervous system and brain are stuck in a boom-and-bust survival pattern, unable to regulate energy or thinking or behaviours in a steady way.
Breaking free from this cycle
Breaking free isn’t in fact about doing less — it’s about doing things differently. It’s about learning how to retrain the nervous system and brain to move between activity and rest without triggering a crash response.
That’s where Energy Cycling comes in. Instead of constantly trying to ration energy or pull back, Energy Cycling shifts the way you use energy so you can break free from the push-crash cycle. It’s not about doing less—it’s about doing things differently. By building a rhythm of structured pauses and balanced activity, you teach your nervous system that using energy is safe, preventing the extreme highs and lows that keep you stuck. This isn’t about restriction—it’s about expanding your capacity in a way that actually works, so you can do more of what matters to you without fear of crashing.
What If You Feel No Motivation?
If you don’t feel drawn to activities right now, that’s okay. Lack of motivation, disinterest, or emotional numbness are symptoms of nervous system dysregulation and being in a shutdown state. When the brain perceives ongoing stress or exhaustion, it downregulates interest, curiosity, and engagement as a protective mechanism.
But here’s the good news: you don’t need to feel motivated to start shifting your state. Research shows that even small, effortless actions—like hearing a familiar song, feeling fresh air on your skin, or moving your fingers through a soft fabric—can begin to nudge your nervous system toward a place of safety and possibility. The goal isn’t to force yourself into action, but to gently offer your brain and body something to respond to.
If motivation isn’t there yet, start smaller. Let a moment of connection—however tiny—be enough for today. These small shifts add up, and over time, they rebuild the pathways to engagement, interest, and energy.
You Don’t Have to Fake It
This isn’t about forcing a smile or pretending to feel better than you do. You don’t have to “think positive” or push away your real emotions to recover.
In fact, trying to override exhaustion, frustration, or grief with forced positivity can make things worse — because it tells your nervous system that your real experience isn’t valid.
True healing doesn’t come from cheering up or pushing through — it comes from honouring where you are, while gently creating openings for change. You can feel fatigue and other symptoms and still take a moment to listen to music. You can feel numb and shut-down and still sit near a window to look out or breathe in some fresh air. You don’t have to pretend to feel good before taking steps that support your nervous system.
This is about adding in small, real moments of connection — not covering up pain with fake positivity. This path begins with acknowledging what’s true for you right now and offering yourself something nourishing, without pressure or expectation.
Amari's Perspective
A doctor once told me to black out the windows, as I hadn’t been able to get any restorative sleep in so long and the fatigue was so intense. Instead of helping, it made me feel worse — trapped and even more disconnected from life. True healing came when I began engaging with life, even in the smallest ways. 💗
💡 Engaging with life may sound difficult right now, but let’s look at some suggestions next, so that there is something here for you, no matter where you currently find yourself.
Choosing the Right Activities
Depending on your current window of tolerance, I am suggesting some activities below. This list is not exhaustive, but is here to help you begin to think about this. The activities below are divided into three categories, so you can consider what suits your energy level today.
If You Are Mild
If you have some energy and mobility, focus on grounding activities that reconnect you with nature and creativity.
✔ Movement in Nature: Walking, Qi Gong or swimming are great to build upon.
✔ Hands-On Connection: Gardening, pottery, or working with wood.
✔ Creative Flow: Playing an instrument, painting, journaling, making something with your hands out of natural materials.
✔ Intentional Social Time: Spending time with trusted people or animals.
✔ Somatic Practice and Emotional Healing: Healing practices that target nervous system regulation and emotional integration.
If You Are Moderate, or Uncertain
If you experience fluctuating symptoms, try gentle activities that still offer lots of engagement.
✔ Sitting in Nature: Feeling sunlight, watching trees sway, listening to birds.
✔ Connecting Touch: Holding warm tea, running hands over fabric, soft touch practices.
✔ Light Creative Expression: Sketching, arranging flowers.
✔ Listening-Based Activities: Healing audio meditations, gentle music, inspiring talks and audiobooks.
✔ Short Somatic Healing Practices: Hand-on-heart practices, gentle breathing exercises.
If you are Severe
If you are bedbound or very limited in energy, you still have options.
✔ Lying in bed, listening to nature sounds.
✔ Holding a soft object for comfort (a teddy, a blanket, a smooth stone).
✔ Visualisation: Imagining a beautiful place, future healing, or soft light.
✔ One-minute breathing focus: A single deep inhale and exhale, focusing on release.
✔ Meditations
✔ Short Somatic gentle practices: Hand-on-heart practices, gentle breathing exercises.
✔ Holding hands with a trusted loved one, even for a moment.
Even if your activity options feel small today, it will expand as your healing journey unfolds. Honour where you are.
Final Thoughts & Next Steps
Healing happens through small, repeated acts of connection — to yourself, your environment, and others. This is not about forcing, but building a foundation for you.
Take a moment now: Place a hand on your heart and acknowledge that reading this page is already a healing action. 💗
Shift out of searching mode: Searching for the “right answer” with stress is different from reading and absorbing this healing information.
✔ Consider connection. Whether through coaching, soft touch, or community, you don’t have to do this alone.
Explore More:
💗 The Gabor Maté Book Summary of When the Body Says No, about Why Suppressed Emotions Affect Chronic Illness
💗 Read the Brené Brown Daring Greatly summary all about Wholehearted Living – Self-Compassion as a Healing Tool
💗 Explore Mind Body Spirit Coaching Sessions Personalised Guidance on Your Healing Journey
💡 If you need guidance, I am here. Book a coaching session to receive personalised support. 💗
