Friday Drop:

You’re reclaiming energy. One harmless espresso at a time.

“I reached for a stronger coffee. My nervous system collapsed like I’d lit a bomb. All I wanted was a little more life — and the Doom Dog hit the panic button.”

The Metaphor

Imagine your nervous system is a tiny, twitchy chihuahua in a biker jacket. It barks at leaves. Flinches at kindness. And every time you try to do something bold — even as small as adding an extra shot of espresso — it throws itself on the floor like:

“OH GOD NO. TOO MUCH. TOO FAST. TOO STRONG. WE’RE GONNA DIE.”

You’re just reaching for coffee. It acts like you’re skydiving without a parachute.

But here’s the truth: it’s not protecting you. It’s just running on outdated scripts — from old fears, from old crashes, from the time when “more energy” meant “more risk.”

Now it’s playing dead whenever you try to play bigger.

The Insight

This isn’t about coffee. It’s about your relationship to vitality.

When your nervous system’s been trained to associate energy with chaos, or action with danger, or aliveness with failure — even a positive jolt (like caffeine, clarity, boldness) can trigger a shutdown overreaction.

This is called the adrenaline-brake paradox: your system floods with fuel — but slams the brakes because it’s scared to move.

So instead of powering up, you freeze. Instead of rising, you collapse.

But it’s not because you’re broken. It’s because your “guard dog” still thinks the world is too dangerous for your full aliveness.

🔥 The Saturday Experiment

This weekend, try this:

1. Make a bold micro-move: ☕ Extra coffee. 🏃‍♂️ Tiny workout. 🧠 Bold idea. 🎙️ Honest voice.

2. When the Doom Dog barks: Don’t fight it. Don’t freeze with it. Just name it:

   “Oh hey, there you are — the shutdown reflex. You think I’m in danger just for feeling alive. But I’m not. So sit. Stay.”

3. Then, gently continue. Let the energy move. Stay online even as the dog panics.

You’re not abandoning safety. You’re just retraining what safety actually looks like.

The Sunday Reflection

Write from third person:

“Today, [your name] noticed the old script again — the voice that says ‘too much, too fast, you’re gonna crash.’ But this time, [they] didn’t obey it. They let energy in. They let life move. They didn’t shut down. That’s what healing looks like now: Allowing more aliveness without fear.”

🐾 Final Word

You don’t need to condemn the Doom Dog. But you don’t have to obey it either.

Just because it flops over and yelps “TOO MUCH!” doesn’t mean you stop.

Sometimes healing looks like saying:

“We’re not dying. We’re drinking coffee. Now get up — we’re going for a walk.”