When you have gone numb rather than frantic, try a long low sound on the out breath. Voo, drawn out until the breath runs out, so your lips and chest buzz with it.

What the research says

A theoretical model of human threat responses describes the nervous system shifting between different defensive modes depending on how close and how certain a danger feels. Shutdown is one of those modes rather than a failure of effort. That framing is why a rousing, sensory practice is the right sort of thing here, though the model itself does not test any particular exercise.

Strength of evidence: long taught, never tested. Widely used and long taught. No trial has established that it works.