![]() ![]() It gives you the opportunity to consider what is really going on before jumping into action. Used well, the freeze response can help you slow down, pause, and assess a situation. The freeze response is when you aren’t able to respond or act at all in the face of threats (real or perceived). ![]() You can also experience it physically: feeling a need to be constantly fidgeting or tapping or be in motion somehow can be a way this response shows up in your life. There’s a belief that in running away you cannot be harmed, and that can often lead to running away mentally–aka disengaging, and doing whatever you can to stay busy. This response, when we’re able to use it in a healthy way, can aid us in doing things like leaving toxic relationships, avoiding dangerous situations, walking away from harmful conversations or environments, etc.Īs a trauma response, the flight response can show up as a need to stay busy all of the time. The flight response is when threats (real or perceived) are abandoned or fled from.Īgain, this isn’t always a bad thing! There are cases where leaving the situation is actually the best choice. It can look like physical blow ups–yelling, slamming your hands or fists into things, etc.–being aggressive or mean with others, as well as being inwardly angry with yourself, often without knowing why. As a trauma response it can show up as meeting a perceived conflict with aggression–essentially using conflict to navigate conflict. However, as a trauma response, we’re not able to balance it with our rational thought, which means the fight response is less of a response and more of an immediate reaction. In a healthy instance this can look like being firm with boundaries, speaking up for yourself when you’re being disrespected or mistreated, protect yourself from immediate threats when necessary, and being confident in asserting yourself. The fight response is when threats (real or perceived) are faced with aggression, or perhaps even physical violence. So what do each of them mean? The Fight Response: Trauma however, can override our ability to use these responses in a healthy way, and can begin to rely on one response no matter the context. It’s also important to note that there are healthy uses of each of these responses. Most people know about fight or flight, but the two others are less commonly heard of, though just as commonly experienced. That means, in new situations where the context is different but events are similar, your brain may activate your trauma response, even when there are no dangers present. Experiencing trauma changes how your brain processes new events while you rationally may be able to understand that the context of your new situation is different from the situation which caused you trauma, your brain isn’t able to distinguish that difference when processing what’s happening. If you have experienced a trauma, this can leave you feeling out of control or like what you’re doing “doesn’t make any sense” but it’s actually your brain’s natural protective response. This means that small things that don’t actually present a true danger are interpreted by our brains to be a threat, and our coping responses are activated. Essentially, a trauma response is the repeated occurrence of a coping mechanism that helped you survive your trauma, but now it is present whether or not the danger you’re sensing is real.Īfter a trauma, we are often hypervigilant, and on alert for danger reflexively, in order to protect ourselves from further harm. The way trauma shows up in our lives is called a trauma response. What may be disturbing and traumatic for one person can be different for another. But because trauma is referring to an emotional response to a disturbing event–disturbing meaning exceeding the individual’s ability to cope with it, so the definition isn’t so cut and dry. are what we commonly think of when we think of trauma. Some events, like abuse, sexual violence, physical violence, car accidents, natural disasters, etc. What trauma is referring to is the emotional response one has from those events. ![]() To understand what a trauma response is, first we must understand what exactly trauma is.ĭespite what you may currently understand about trauma, trauma isn’t defined by a type of event–though some events are more likely to lead to trauma than others, and therefore more commonly cause trauma. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |