Fight. Flight. Freeze

Fight. Flight. Freeze

These are all words that many of us are aware of, but do you understand the impact that they have on your own life?

Did you know that our nervous system’s prime responsibility is to keep us alive and safe. Did you know that our nervous system goes into action without us even having to think about it? This is a benefit to us, but it can also make life feel really unpredictable and can make us feel “out of control”.


Fight/Flight (Flee)
If you have had significant experiences that have left an impact on your life, you likely experience your nervous system doing its job, but it may feel like you experience: anxiety, depression, a racing mind, or extreme awareness of your surroundings.


Why does your body do this? In short, to keep you safe. However, trauma makes it so that our nervous system becomes too sensitive and thinks that EVERYTHING is a threat, causing it to respond as such. This becomes exhausting for your body. Every time your nervous system activates, it creates an increased heart rate, quickened breathing, dumps of cortisol (stress hormone) and adrenaline. All of these things can create feelings of anxiety.


Flee serves the purpose of getting yourself out of the situation that isn’t safe. That is an amazing purpose, unless, you are responding to EVERY potential threat. This can result in you leaving situations, avoiding situations, and there affecting relationships, even if they are not a threat.


Freeze 
You may notice that when something feels too overwhelming, you literally feel stuck, you don’t know what to do next. Sometimes this state can become a state of depression. It feels impossible to do anything, because things are too overwhelming.

There is a purpose to freezing. The nervous system goes into a state of freeze to check out of the feelings of pain. Sometimes during traumatic events, our body goes into a state of freeze, our mind wanders somewhere else and we check out of the present. This protects us from what is happening in the moment, in hopes of protecting us.

I want you to think of the gazelle that is running from its prey. It collapses and freezes feigning its own death. In doing so, the predator will likely leave the prey alone. The state of freezing keeps it from feeling the pain of the potential attack.

The impact of Fight/Flight/Freeze in Trauma
While the nervous system is something that is of great benefit to us, it is also important for us to recognize when it is being activated. If we find that our nervous system is in a constant state of fight/flight/freeze, that can really start to have an impact on us. You may find that relationships are difficult, you feel anxious often, have feelings of depression, have racing thoughts, etc. Our body has lasting effects from us experience traumatic experiences and gets stuck in the “on” position and responds to anything that could be perceived as a threat.

Do you experience feelings of Fight/Flight/ Freeze often in your everyday life?

There is hope for a better future. This way of living doesn't have to be normal. 

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