5 Things You Need to Know About the Fight-Flight-Freeze Response
Fight, Flight, Freeze are buzzwords when it comes to trauma. Check out the list below of 5 things you should know about this physiological reaction to trauma.
*Keep in mind that when I refer to the term “threat,” this is a perception by our nervous systems. What our bodies feel as dangerous may not actually be the case in every situation (like giving a speech in front of a full classroom)
Fight-Flight-Freeze is our survival mode
When we experience a perceived threat, we turn to our resources and coping skills to help us get through it. If our individual resources fail to keep us safe and we’re unable to defend ourselves (real or perceived), our body goes into survival mode. “Survival mode” is the body’s last resort to keep us safe. This defense is enacted through either fighting the threat, escaping the threat, or shutting the body down to avoid or protect us from the threat.
Trauma is not an event, but a failure of our fight-flight-freeze survival system
“Trauma” is a word often associated with the term fight-flight-freeze. But what is trauma exactly and how do these 3 F’s come into play? Contrary to popular belief, trauma isn’t actually an event, but a response to an event. As exampled above, when something overwhelms our ability to cope, our nervous system shifts states into survival mode, choosing to either fight, run (flight), or freeze. Our bodies are doing everything in their power to protect us, however if we are powerless in a situation and our fight-flight-freeze system fails to protect us, this results in what we call trauma.
You don’t get to decide which one to use
When our brains are alerted to a dangerous situation or threat, our first response is actually somatic. This means our body makes a choice without any conscious thought or decision-making process. Instead, our nervous system makes the decision for us to either fight, flight, or freeze and unfortunately, we don’t get a say in which one. This is important to know, as many of us feel frustrated with what we did or didn’t do during a traumatic event. The truth is, your body chose the one response it felt had the best chance at protecting you.
If fight or flight doesn’t work, your body will shut itself down (freeze)
If fighting the threat or escaping the threat doesn’t work, our bodies will make us disappear. We may pass out, dissociate, or simply no longer feel present in our bodies. During this experience our pain threshold heightens and we essentially prepare ourselves to die with the least amount of pain (scary- but truly amazing if you think about it!) Just like fight or flight, this response is another way our bodies try to protect us if we are powerless (real or perceived) in a situation.
The response you used as a child is most likely what you’ll do as an adult
Your body chooses what your best shot at survival is and whatever response it picks will continue to be used as your survival mechanism throughout life. For instance, if as a child your body used the freeze response during overwhelming situations, this is the response you’ll most likely use in adulthood. The body keeps going back to the same patterns of self-defense. This is often why some individuals who have experienced childhood trauma will find themselves dissociating during stressful situations well into adulthood.