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When faced with danger or a perceived threat, our bodies activate powerful survival mechanisms that have evolved over millions of years. These responses help us react to trauma and stress so that our chances of survival is maximized. While you must have heard about the basic “fight-or-flight” responses that are often made in response to any stressful situations, our body and mind go beyond these two trauma responses and have many other ways in which they react. This blog will highlight the different kinds of trauma responses and how we can recognize them to heal better.
What are Trauma Responses?
To understand this, we must understand what we mean by trauma. Trauma is defined as an ‘overwhelming life-altering event that leads to pervasive physical, psychological, or emotional distress’. Trauma responses are, hence, automatic physiological and psychological reactions that occur when we perceive danger or experience overwhelming stress. These responses are controlled by our brain that makes split-second decisions to maximize our chances of survival. Trauma responses are not conscious decision-making activity for our brain but happen instantaneously even before we realize what is happening. Based on recent research on acute stress responses, five types of trauma responses have surfaced. These include flight, fight, freeze, fawn, and flop.Fight Response
The fight trauma response involves releasing of hormones (primarily cortisol and adrenaline) in the body that trigger the reaction to stay and ward off the apparent threat. This allows us to defend ourselves physically or verbally. The physical signs of a flight response include increased heart rate and blood pressure, source of energy and strength, muscle tension, feeling hot or flush, and narrowed focus on threat. The flight response is healthy when it is used to defend yourself from physical attack or assert boundaries when someone crosses a line. However, it becomes a problem when it leads to excessive anger, road rage, picking unnecessary fights, and aggression towards loved ones.Flight Response
The flight trauma response includes, involves release of stress hormones that signals us to flee from danger or threat. Instead of staying in a dangerous situation, the response causes us to literally or metaphorically run. This response, this reaction prioritizes getting away from the threat rather than confronting it. It leads to feelings of restlessness, fidgeting, darting eyes, increased heart rate, feeling trapped or confined, and nervous energy. Behaviourally, it manifests as physically leaving a situation, avoiding people, constant busyness to escape thoughts or feelings, difficulty staying still, or even through frequent changing on jobs or relationships. This is healthy when you are leaving an abusive relationship, evacuating during a natural disaster, or removing yourself from a toxic environment. However, it becomes problematic when it leads to chronic avoidance of responsibilities, inability to face conflicts, and sabotaging relations before getting hurt.Freeze Response
The freeze response leaves us temporarily paralyzed by fear and unable to move. It happens when the brain determines that neither fleeing or fighting will work. You become immobilized, unable to move or speak as your body essentially ‘plays dead’. In such a situation, we do nothing and the perceived threat almost causes a hypnotic or immobile reaction. It is possible that you might feel, experience numbness or a sense of dread in a freeze response. The physical signs of a freeze response include numbness or dissociation, holding your breath, muscle rigidity, sensing being outside your body, and feeling stuck or unable to move. Behaviorally, it can manifest in procrastination and indecision, spacing out or dissociating, going blank during stressful conversations, inability to say no, or feeling paralyzed by fear. It is healthy when encountering a dangerous animal or pausing to assess the situation before acting or remaining calm during a medical emergency. However, it might lead to chronic indecision, inability to take important decisions, dissociating from emotions, or getting stuck in unhealthy situations.Fawn Response
The fawn response. or rather, fawn pattern involves appeasing or pleasing to the threat to ensure safety. This means that once you’ve tried to fight, flight, or freeze several times before without any success, the fawn response comes into play. This response is common to people who have experienced abuse, especially those with narcissistic or romantic caregivers or romantic partners. Physical signs of fawn response include shrinking body posture, difficulty maintaining eye contact, forced smiling or laughing, soft appeasing voice, and tension from suppressing true feelings. Behaviorally, it can manifest in over-apologizing, excessive people-pleasing, difficulty saying no, taking responsibility for others’ emotions, and difficulty in identifying your own preferences. While the fawn response might help in professional settings where you have to be diplomatic or compromising in relations, but in the long run, it is problematic as you lose your sense of self, end up staying in abusive relations, or self-sacrifice with the inability to recognize or express your own needs and wants.Flop Response
The flop response, on the other hand, is the most extreme form of immobilization, where the person becomes completely physically or mentally unresponsive. It can also lead to fainting in response to being paralyzed by fear, as you get so overwhelmed by the stress. The physical signs of a flop response include fainting, loss, collapsing, a going into a complete state of shutdown, complete muscle limbo, drastic drop in blood pressure, inability to respond to stimuli, and inability to respond to stimuli. Behavioral manifestations include passing out during medical procedures, complete emotional shutdown, becoming non-responsive during conflict, and total collapse under stress. It can also lead to extreme dissociation. The flop response is an ancient survival mechanism that has always been seen in the animal kingdom, where they play dead when they are approached by a dangerous predator. This tonic immobility may enhance survival and is therefore adaptive when there is no perceive possibility of escaping or winning a fight. At North America Behavioral Health Services, we understand trauma and the need for trauma-informed care. We support you with top-notch trauma therapy to help you understand your trauma responses, find closure around trauma, and heal effectively. There is always hope for recovery. If you are ready to get started with your healing journey and peeling away the layers of trauma, then reach out to us on +1 (917) 267 8635.FAQs
Unresolved trauma leads to higher risk of developing any form of addiction, be it substance use, gaming addiction, porn addiction, shopping addiction, etc. This happens because when people remain stuck in chronic stress responses, they often want an outlet to deal with such complex emotions and the pain it causes. Drugs or alcohol help in temporarily numbing the feeling of anxiety, depression, fear, or shame that stem from trauma. Those who are stuck in the fight or flight mode may use depressants like alcohol or opioids to calm their overactive nervous system, whereas those experiencing freeze or flop response may use stimulants to combat disconnection and numbness.
Research has shown that more than 70% of adolescents in substance abuse treatment have some history of trauma.
Healthy coping mechanisms help regulate your nervous system without causing harm. Effective strategies include:
- Somatic practices such as yoga, tai chi, deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness,
- Physical activities like regular exercises, dancing, martial arts
- Creative expression such as journaling, art, music, playing instruments
- Social connection, talking with trusted friends, joining support groups, therapy or counseling
- Grounding techniques such as holding ice cubes, naming objects in your environment, using the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory technique
- Professional support through trauma-focused therapy, regular therapy sessions, and psychiatric care and medications if the case is extreme.
Trauma is not just emotional. It profoundly effects the physical body both in immediate and long-term ways. Trauma is usually deeply seated within the body and leads to the release of stress hormones, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, digestive issues, and altered pain perception.
In the long run, it can lead to digestive issues, chronic pain, sleep disturbances. chronic inflammation, cardiovascular problems, and hormonal imbalances.
Trauma responses may not always be short-lived and can extend to an extent way beyond your current state. Being stuck in a trauma response means that your nervous system is always on high alert or shut down even when there is no current threat. Instead of returning to a calm, regulated state after stress, you continue to operate from survival mode.
This shows up differently depending on the response you are stuck in, be it fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop. It happens because the trauma is not processed properly and the brain perceives the world as dangerous. Without intervention, this becomes your baseline effect, a state affecting every area of your life.
Trauma has high chances to lead into some sort of substance use disorders. Research has shown that 50 to 75% of people seeking addiction treatment reported trauma history. Drugs and alcohol also help avoid trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and memories. It is also possible that head trauma can impair impulse control and judgment, leading to prolonged use of any substance.
