Stressful situations, such as a looming deadline or a traumatic event can trigger different stress responses. These stress responses are also alternatively called trauma responses. Trauma responses are primal reactions to stressful situations. In the modern world, there are four commonly recognized stress responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.
Fight
The most commonly known response is the fight response, which occurs when the body believes that it is in danger, and that the most effective way to protect itself is to fight back. For example, if you are attacked by someone, your immediate response may be to physically fight back. This response occurs because the body realizes that fighting back is the safest option.
Flight
The flight response, which often goes hand-in-hand with the fight response, occurs when the body believes that it is in danger and that fleeing the scene is the safest option. For example, if you are being intimidated by someone much stronger than you, you may run away from them. In this context, your flight response is activated, because your body decides that fighting the perpetrator isn’t a safe option, and that instead, leaving the situation may be the safest solution.
Freeze
The freeze response is less commonly talked about than the fight or flight response. The freeze mechanism occurs when your body subconsciously decides that it has no other option. It cannot fight back, and it cannot flee. Freezing is the next best option. It is perhaps best contextualized in the lives of our prehistoric ancestors. In prehistoric times, if you were bitten by a bear, it was perhaps best to freeze. By freezing, you disassociated from the pain caused by the injury. The “freeze” mechanism completely physically, mentally, and emotionally immobilizes the body. By not allowing you to feel the pain, the freeze response can actually decrease the full impact that the attack has on you.
Fawn
The fourth trauma response is called the fawn response. It is arguably the least talked about response. It’s primarily a behavior exhibited by survivors of trauma, and can be an effect of long-term abuse. It’s a coping mechanism in which individuals attempt to avoid getting hurt by placating the person that is making them feel unsafe. People engage in this behavior because they are afraid of the backlash they will face if they act in a certain way. An example of the fawn response is doing helpful things for an abuser in an effort to stop the abuse.
Although trauma responses may seem like vastly different responses to similar situations, they are actually extremely similar responses in the way that they occur in the human body. In the fight, flight, and freeze responses, the amygdala sends signals to the hypothalamus, which then stimulates the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system then either triggers the release of adrenaline and cortisol in the sympathetic nervous system as part of the fight or flight response, or triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which drives the freeze response.
Ultimately, trauma responses are all coping mechanisms that individuals exhibit as a way of keeping themselves safe. The largely overlooked trauma responses—freezing and fawning—may be less obviously useful at first glance. But they are useful behaviors because they ultimately protect the people that exhibit them.
The specific trauma response that someone exhibits in response to a certain situation depends on factors such as past experiences and genetics. For example, two people who experience the exact same trauma may not react in the same way because of the different factors that influence their reactions.
The Solution
While the negative effects of trauma responses can never truly be completely eradicated, trauma responses can be managed. Therapy is a key to help treat these responses and address the underlying behaviors causing people to engage in them. Understanding trauma responses is the first step towards healing the minds of everyday people.
Bibliography
Taylor , Martin. “Acute Stress Response: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-does-fight-flight-freeze-fawn-mean. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
“Understanding the stress response.” Harvard Health, Harvard health, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response.
Accessed 18 Nov. 2024
Raypole, Crystal. “The Beginner’s Guide to Trauma Responses.” Healthline, Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/fight-flight-freeze-fawn.
Accessed 18 Nov. 2024
Marschall, Amy. “Fawning: What to Know About the People-Pleasing Trauma Response.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/fawning-fear-response-7377238.
Accessed 18 Nov. 2024
Seltzer, Leon. “Trauma and the Freeze Response: Good, Bad, or Both?” Psychology Today, Psychology Today, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201507/trauma-and-the-freeze-resp
onse-good-bad-or-both.
Accessed 18 Nov. 2024