Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Here Are Different Ways People Respond to Trauma

When people experience trauma, there are various ways for them to respond.

Overall, there are four unique responses that could shed light on the matter.

Trauma Responses

Such trauma responses may naturally occur.

The ANS (autonomic nervous system) and brain react quickly to threats by engaging in hormone release. These hormones may include cortisol and adrenaline.

Such hormones could lead to physical sensations and changes that could help a person deal with the danger.

A person's exact response to trauma may depend on different factors, such as trauma nature and pattern of abuse or neglect.

Fight Response

The fight response triggers an instinct to aggressively cope with the perceived threat. This could trigger high blood pressure and an increased heart rate, among other symptoms.

Other signs of this response may include the urge to lash out physically or feeling intensely angry.

The fight response could cover any action taken to negate or stand up against a threat. This could include shouting at a friend or posting a strong social media post.

Flight Response

Unlike the confrontative fight response, this response focuses more on fleeing for salvation. Like the fight response, the flight response could also trigger an adrenaline rush and increased heart rate. This could happen as the body prepares to flee from danger.

The flight response could look like physically fleeing from a threatening or stressful situation. It may also involve distracting oneself with other things.

Freeze Response

The freeze response causes a person to feel like they are stuck in place. It happens when the body perceives the fight or flight response as not being feasible.

This is actually a stalling technique wherein the brain stays hypervigilant but presses the "pause" button.

According to some experts, this response happens before one chooses to either fight or flight. It may also happen when either of the two does not appear feasible.

The freeze response could also lead to bodily sensations, such as a lower heart rate, numbness, immobility, or dissociation. Other signs may include feeling emotionally confused or numb, holding one's breath, having difficulties speaking, being unable to decide or act, or experiencing concentration difficulties.

Fawn Response

The last one is the fawn response, which offers a different path towards safety. A person who responds this way may opt to please and appease a threatening person.

Such a response is more common in situations of abuse. For instance, a child who has an emotionally abusive parent may decide to be agreeable, as it would be safer compared to fighting back.

Signs of fawn response activation may include being a people-pleaser, finding it difficult to say no, pretending to agree with others, putting the needs of others first, being unable to stick to boundaries, and doing what others say.

These various trauma responses are ways to help individuals respond to various perceived or real threats in effective ways.