Trauma Responses Explained: How Your Brain Reacts to Stress
Trauma is known for its emotional impact, but it doesn't just affect one's emotions. It can completely rewire the brain, especially the brain's response to stress. When we experience something distressing, overwhelming, or threatening, the brain can jump into defense mode to protect and defend itself. But since these reactions are designed to help protect us, they can linger long after the trauma or danger has passed.
Taking the time to better understand how the brain responds to trauma can help to make sense of these behaviors, emotional reactions, and even one's relationship patterns. The four main trauma responses are the fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses. These four responses are the body and brain's way to help keep us safe when faced with a perceived threat. Each response is automatic, valid, and is shaped by personal past histories and environments. Let's learn more bout the trauma responses and how your brain can react to stress.
Trauma and the Brain
When the brain is faced with a perceived threat, the amygdala is activated. This is the part of the brain responsible for detecting danger. When it detects danger, it triggers a stress response that floods the body. Adrenaline and cortisol help get the body ready to react to the threat. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and reasoning, goes offline during times of intense stress, making it more difficult for the brain to think clearly. While this is happening, the nervous system prepares for one of the four trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
The Fight Response
The fight response prepares the body to confront any threats head-on. This can look like anger, aggression, or defiance. People with the fight response feel an intense need to protect themselves, emotionally and/or physically, as well as a desire to regain control. Someone with a fight response can experience feeling on edge or irritable, becoming argumentative, or trying to control situations or others. If this response is overactive, it can cause conflict or lead to emotional burnout.
The Flight Response
The flight response is the body's way of trying to escape the threat. This may not always mean physically running away. It can also mean mentally checking out, trying to stay busy, or overworking. Someone with the flight response can experience feelings of anxiety, panic, restlessness, or a feeling like they have to always be doing or fixing something. The flight response can lead to chronic exhaustion and stress.
The Freeze Response
The freeze response is the body's way of shutting down in the hope that the danger will pass. People who experience the freeze response can feel paralyzed or like they're unable to react to the threat at hand. They may disconnect or dissociate from their surroundings, which can cause them to have a difficult time speaking up or making any decisions. The freeze response is common in situations where fighting or fleeing isn't an option, like in cases of childhood trauma or long-term abuse.
The Fawn Response
The fawn response may not be as common as the other three responses, but it's just as real. This response involves appeasing others or people pleasing as a way to stay safe and avoid conflict. The fawn response is most commonly seen in relationships where approval and love are tied to emotional caretaking or obedience. People with the fawn response will have a difficult time setting and sticking to boundaries and putting themselves above others. While this response can help in the short term, it can lead to burnout, a loss of identity, and resentment.
Next Steps
No matter if you fight, flee, freeze, or fawn, these are your body and brain's way of protecting yourself. Learning how your brain reacts to stress can help you dig deeper into the automatic patterns so that you can work on developing healthier responses. Reach out today to regain control over your emotional life with a free anxiety therapy consultation.
