Not Wanting To Live And Not Wanting To Die: Resignation Syndrome – The Hidden Trauma State No One Talks About
Mini Lessons, High Value, Low Overwhelm Newsletter:
You don’t want to die, but you don’t want to be here either.
This is the space no one talks about, not even seasoned therapists,—the silent, hidden trauma state where your body shuts down after too much pain, too much loss, too much survival. This is not depression, it is not you being suicidal. It’s Resignation Syndrome.
In today’s episode, Ana Mael—a trauma survivor, war refugee, and somatic therapist—breaks the silence on a deep, hidden trauma state that no one talks about: resignation syndrome.
It’s that place where you don’t want to die, but you also don’t want to live.
If you’ve been feeling numb, disconnected, exhausted beyond words—welcome.
This is not another mental health podcast. This is a space for the unseen, the cast out, the forgotten—for those who have been forced to start over, rebuild, and carry on without ever getting the chance to grieve what they lost.
This episode is for YOU if:
- You don’t feel like dying, but you don’t feel like living either.
- You’ve ever felt like you don’t belong—anywhere
- You carry trauma that no one talks about, that no one sees, that has shaped your entire life.
- You’re exhausted from surviving, from holding it all together, from pretending you’re “fine.”
- You are a refugee, an immigrant, stateless, exiled, displaced—or born into a family that carries this pain.
- You grew up in war, in silence, in survival mode, and now you don’t know how to exist without it.
- Trauma survivors seeking somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and deep emotional restoration
- You live with PTSD, depression, and dissociation
- Anyone who has felt unseen, unheard, or exiled from their own identity and home
“Trauma is not just what happens to you; it’s how it shapes your body, your breath, your relationships, your ability to take up space in the world.” – Ana Mael
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
A name for what you’ve been feeling—resignation syndrome—and why it happens
Why your trauma is valid, no matter what your mind tells you about “having it easier than others”
Resignation Syndrome: Understanding this trauma-induced survival state and why it’s often ignored
Trauma Beyond War: Why you don’t need to have lived through war to feel exiled within your own body
The Nervous System & Shutdown: How prolonged trauma, loss, and uncertainty lead the body into a deep survival rest
The Role of Silence & Shame: Why comparing trauma invalidates healing and how naming your pain is the first step
Somatic Healing & Recovery: How to gently move from resignation into restoration and reclaim your existence. Somatic healing tools to begin moving out of this place—slowly, safely, without force
The hidden survival instinct behind your exhaustion (you’re not lazy, you have Resignation Syndrom)
How prolonged uncertainty, grief, and silence create the deepest wounds
Timestamps:
[00:01] Welcome & Introduction – Who this space is for
[00:06] The Silent Space Between Life & Death – What is resignation syndrome?
[00:12] Trauma & The Nervous System – Why the body shuts down under prolonged stress
[00:18] The Role of Silence – Why unspoken trauma deepens suffering
[00:22] The Difference Between Resignation & Surrender – Finding a path to healing
[00:29] Somatic Healing & Next Steps – Practical tools for moving forward
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Meet Your Host: Ana Mael
Ana Mael is a genocide and war survivor, somatic therapist, and founder of the Somatic Trauma Recovery Center. She has dedicated her work to helping survivors reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-trust.
She is the bestselling author of The Trauma We Don’t Talk About—a #1 book in over 10 categories, including Mental Health, Personal Testimonies, and Memoirs.
Ana lives in Toronto, Canada, where she works directly with clients and educates mental health professionals and counsellors on displacement, exile, and war trauma recovery. She leads training programs, provides trauma-informed therapy, and conducts research to bridge the gap between somatic therapy and global crisis trauma care.
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