Trauma can sometimes cause us to rely on survival instincts in everyday life. These survival instincts are referred to as trauma responses.

There are four common Trauma Responses 

1. Fight

2. Flight 

3. Freeze 

4. Fawn

When we perceive a threat in our environment our body is overwhelmed and unable to connect to a sense of safety. This places us in survival mode, where our response becomes fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. There may not be an actual threat in our environment, however, as long as we perceive there to be a threat our bodies tend to react. A perceived threat could be anything from your physical safety to emotional well-being. 

Everyone responds to trauma differently and one of the four categories may resonate more with you. Each response can manifest in our day to day and show up in healthy and unhealthy behaviours: 

1. During the fight response, we realize that in order to survive we need to fight back. Therefore, if we feel our safety is at risk, we tend to fight back. Some examples of healthy manifestations are setting healthy boundaries and assertiveness. However, our behaviour can also manifest in unhealthy ways such as: anger outbursts, controlling, “the bully”, narcissistic, explosive behaviour, irritability, etc. 

2. The flight response comes from the idea of escaping or avoiding. When our brains detect a threat we tend to utilize fleeing as our method of survival. This can show up in healthy behaviours, such as taking a break from difficult conversations. It can also show up in unhealthy behaviours, for example: workaholic, over-thinker, anxiety, OCD, panic, worry, difficulty sitting still, perfectionist, and avoiding. 

3. When we default to the freeze response, we stop and numb our feelings and needs. When we feel in danger, we can rely on the freeze response as a survival tool. Mindfulness can be a healthy behaviour associated with the freeze response and allows us to stay in the present moment in a healthy way. The freeze response can also show up in unhealthy behaviour patterns, such as: difficulty making decisions, stuck, dissociation, isolation, numbness, collapsed, shame, and depression. 

4. The fawn response refers to people pleasing tendencies. This means that in order to feel safe and survive a threat, we feel we need to accommodate another person's wants or needs. This can show up in healthy behaviours when we make room for another person’s needs, show compassion, and support others. However, it can also show up in unhealthy ways, such as: people pleasing, lack of identity, no boundaries, overwhelmed, codependent, difficulty saying no, and avoiding conflict

Not all behaviours manifested from trauma responses require change or are unhealthy. However, some responses may be negatively impacting your day to day life and/or relationships. If you are looking for extra guidance around trauma, trauma responses, or behaviours manifested from trauma, please don’t hesitate to reach out for support!