Understanding Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn

Trauma can deeply affect how we respond to stress and danger. When faced with overwhelming situations, our brain activates survival mechanisms known as trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Understanding these reactions can help us recognize and manage them in everyday life.

Fight Response:

The fight response occurs when we feel empowered to confront the threat head-on. This might look like displaced anger, aggression, or defensiveness, and it's our body’s way of trying to regain control. This can show up displaced as well, noticing anger coming up at times or in places which feel misaligned to the circumstance.

Flight Response:

Flight is the urge to escape the situation. This may manifest as anxiety, restlessness, avoidance, or an overwhelming need to physically or emotionally withdraw from the source of distress or day-to-day life.

Freeze Response:

When we feel we cannot fight or flee, the freeze response kicks in. It’s characterized by feeling immobilized, stuck, or numb. Often, people feel detached or disconnected from their surroundings and emotions during this response.

Fawn Response:

Less commonly discussed, the fawn response involves people-pleasing behavior. This is an attempt to diffuse danger by appeasing the threat. It’s common in individuals who’ve experienced prolonged trauma, such as childhood abuse. A survival mechanism designed to reduce the risks of further significant harm.

Recognizing and Healing:

Understanding your trauma responses is the first step to healing. Therapy approaches like EMDR, CBT, and DBT can help individuals process trauma, regulate emotions, and develop healthier coping strategies.

Trauma responses are natural and protective mechanisms, but they can also impact daily life. By acknowledging and working through these responses, healing becomes possible, and individuals can regain a sense of safety, stabilisation, and empowerment back over their lives; putting you back in the drivers seat of choice.

More information and workshops for survivors about trauma can be found at Blue Knot: https://blueknot.org.au/