When we talk about the stress response, we only know about the fight or flight responses that have been documented in both animals and humans for over 100 years. When our stress responses are activated, a carefully orchestrated sequence of hormonal and physiological changes helps us tackle a traumatic/stressful situation. There have been two lesser-known additions in the responses after a better understanding of the human brain by researchers and biologists – “freeze” and “fawn”. These are the four responses that one experiences when faced with a highly stressful situation or traumatic situation. First, let us understand each response:
1. Fight – Defending you from an attack by fighting the threat.
2. Flight – Running away from the danger.
3. Freeze – Feeling paralyzed or unable to act against the threat.
4. Fawn – Acting submissive and trying to please to avoid any conflict.
The term “fawn” was coined by Pete Walker, a C-PTSD survivor and licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in helping traumatized adults. Dr. Cathy Kezelman, president of Blue Knot Foundation said that often when in cases of complex trauma we lack the power to fight or flee, we will ‘freeze’ or ‘appease’. The fawn or appease response occurs with a mindset of complying and minimizing the confrontation in an attempt to protect themselves.
Usually, most trauma survivors tend to respond according to one stress response. These responses are our body’s natural reactions to threats and thus help us in surviving frightening situations which can vary from a life-threatening situation to modern-day stressful situations like constant work-related stress, arguing with your partner, getting stuck in traffic, and so on. No one response is better or worse as all of them help us to perform better under pressure and cope with demanding circumstances.
Sometimes, the stress responses happen automatically with no real danger and phobias are great examples of this concept. If a person is faced with a phobia, the response gets activated because it can be something mundane and enjoyable for most of us but not for the person in question. Therefore, we must thoroughly understand our body’s natural responses to face everyday situations properly.