Understanding the Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn & Flop How the Body Remembers, Reacts, and Recovers

 


Understanding the Trauma Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn & Flop

How the Body Remembers, Reacts, and Recovers. By Phiona Hutton 


Trauma isn’t just an emotional wound, it’s a full-body experience. Long after a threat has passed, the body can remain in a state of hypervigilance or shutdown. The responses we commonly refer to as fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop are not choices we make consciously. Rather, they are automatic nervous system responses, deeply ingrained survival mechanisms governed by millions of years of evolution.


What Are the Five Trauma Responses?

These five responses arise from our autonomic nervous system (ANS) when we perceive danger. They are:

Fight: Confront the threat aggressively.

Flight: Escape the danger.

Freeze: Become still to avoid detection.

Fawn: Please or appease to avoid conflict or harm.

Flop: Collapse or play dead, sometimes leading to dissociation.

Each is adaptive in certain situations but can become dysfunctional when chronically activated.


The Nervous System and Polyvagal Theory. To truly understand these responses, we must explore the polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. The theory explains how the vagus nerve, a central component of the parasympathetic nervous system, modulates our responses to safety and danger.


The Three Main States of the Nervous System:


Ventral Vagal (Social Engagement)

Safe, connected, calm

Supports rest, digestion, and bonding

Sympathetic Activation (Fight or Flight)

Mobilises energy for action

Increases heart rate, breathing, muscle tension

Dorsal Vagal (Freeze, Flop, Collapse)

Immobilisation or shutdown

Can involve numbness, dissociation, fainting


These states are not binary but exist on a spectrum, and individuals often fluctuate between them depending on their window of tolerance, the range within which a person can function optimally under stress.


A Closer Look at Each Response


Fight Response

Trigger: Perceived ability to overcome threat

Activation: Sympathetic nervous system

Physical Signs: Clenched fists, tight jaw, yelling, glaring, muscle tension

Symptoms: Anger, irritability, rage, agitation


Flight Response

Trigger: Perceived chance of escaping danger

Activation: Sympathetic nervous system

Physical Signs: Restlessness, fidgeting, pacing, shallow breathing

Symptoms: Anxiety, panic, overworking, perfectionism


Freeze Response

Trigger: Overwhelming danger with no perceived escape

Activation: Dorsal vagal shutdown

Physical Signs: Stillness, wide eyes, numbness

Symptoms: Dissociation, confusion, time loss, feeling "stuck"


Fawn Response

Trigger: Danger from interpersonal conflict

Activation: Mixed, blends parasympathetic inhibition with survival appeasement

Physical Signs: People pleasing, difficulty saying no, caretaking behavior

Symptoms: Identity loss, codependency, exhaustion, guilt


Flop Response

Trigger: Extreme threat with total helplessness

Activation: Dorsal vagal, extreme parasympathetic dominance

Physical Signs: Fainting, muscle collapse, going limp

Symptoms: Non-responsiveness, catatonia, disconnection from reality


How the Body Reacts: Physical & Somatic Symptoms


Trauma responses can manifest in the body through:

Chronic pain and tension

Gastrointestinal issues (IBS, nausea)

Insomnia or hypersomnia

Hormonal imbalances

Breathing difficulties

Migraines or headaches

Fatigue or hyperarousal

Because trauma is stored somatically, these symptoms may persist even when the person is unaware of their psychological roots.


The Body Remembers: Somatic Memory & “The Body Keeps the Score”


Bessel van der Kolk’s seminal work The Body Keeps the Score emphasises that trauma is not just remembered in the mind but encoded in the body. Implicit memory (non-verbal, bodily memory) can hold onto trauma even when explicit memory fades.

This means trauma survivors might react to seemingly neutral events with intense fear or shutdown, not because they remember the trauma, but because their body does.


When These States Become Dysfunctional


Although these responses evolved to protect us, chronic activation leads to dysfunction:

Fight may become aggression or emotional reactivity.

Flight may become chronic anxiety or avoidance.

Freeze may lead to detachment or dissociation.

Fawn can manifest as toxic people-pleasing or loss of boundaries.

Flop might present as unresponsiveness or dissociative episodes.

In modern life, people often mask these states to appear "normal," leading to inner turmoil:

Smiling while anxious (flight)

Working excessively (fight)

Laughing to avoid conflict (fawn)

Appearing calm but emotionally numb (freeze/flop)


Nervous System Hangover: The Aftermath of Survival Mode


After a person has experienced a heightened survival state, whether it’s fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop, the body often goes through a nervous system hangover. This isn’t just emotional fatigue; it’s a physiological crash that can occur once the nervous system comes down from a prolonged or acute state of activation.


What Does a Nervous System Hangover Look Like?


Symptoms can include:

Extreme exhaustion or fatigue (even after resting)

Emotional numbness or emotional flooding (crying, irritability)

Brain fog, poor concentration, or memory issues

Body aches, heaviness, or muscle soreness

Digestive issues (bloating, nausea, appetite changes)

Low mood or depression-like symptoms

Heightened sensitivity to sound, light, or touch

Withdrawal from social interaction

Guilt or shame for how you reacted while dysregulated

Sleep disturbances (too much or too little sleep)

These symptoms reflect the body trying to recalibrate after being pushed beyond its window of tolerance. Essentially, the nervous system is attempting to recover from what it perceives as a life threatening event, even if it wasn’t.


Why It Happens


During a high-stress or trauma response: Cortisol and adrenaline spike.

The body diverts energy from long-term functions (digestion, immunity, reproduction).

Muscles tense, heart rate increases, and sensory perception narrows. Once the threat passes, the nervous system downshifts, but this drop can be steep, leaving the body feeling depleted, disoriented, or even ill. This is particularly true if the person regularly suppresses these states to “keep functioning.”


Supporting Recovery After a Nervous System Hangover

To gently re-regulate the body, consider:

Grounding exercises (pressing feet into the floor, orienting to the room)

Gentle somatic movement (stretching, rocking, walking)

Restorative breathwork (slow, diaphragmatic breathing)

Hydration and nutrient-dense foods

Therapeutic check-ins to process the emotional load

Journaling or expressive writing

Touch or self-soothing (weighted blankets, self-massage)

Remember: A nervous system hangover is not weakness—it's the cost of survival in an overextended system. Compassionate, body-based care is essential to recover and rebuild resilience.


What Happens to the Body and Adrenaline During Trauma Responses

Trauma responses aren’t just emotional or behavioural, they are deeply chemical and physiological. At the heart of this response is a cascade of neurochemicals, especially adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol, which are released by the adrenal glands in response to a perceived threat.

These hormones trigger the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) or dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze, flop). Understanding this internal storm can help normalise what so many people feel during and after stress.


Fight & Flight: The Adrenaline Surge

When a threat is detected:

The amygdala signals the hypothalamus, which activates the HPA axis(hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal).

Adrenaline is released within seconds, followed by cortisol for longer-term stress management.

The sympathetic nervous system kicks in to mobilise the body for action.

Physical Effects of Adrenaline:

Rapid heartbeat (to circulate oxygen faster)

Quick, shallow breathing

Dilated pupils (to sharpen vision)

Increased blood flow to muscles

Reduced digestive and reproductive activity

Sweating (to cool the body)

Hyper-alertness and narrowed focus (vigilance)

This prepares the body to fight or flee, but prolonged exposure can lead to adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and chronic health issues.


Freeze & Flop: The Drop Into Shutdown

If the nervous system senses that fight or flight won't succeed, it may shift into freeze or flop, driven by the dorsal vagal branch of the parasympathetic system.

In this case, adrenaline may spike first, but then the body rapidly inhibitsfurther mobilisation:

Heart rate and blood pressure drop. Muscles go limp or tense up. Breathing slows. Endorphins flood the body to numb pain

Dissociation may occur (mental and physical detachment)

The body may immobilise or even collapse (flop response)

This can resemble fainting, emotional numbing, or feeling “frozen in place.” It’s an ancient survival mechanism, playing dead to outlast a predator.


Fawn: The Appeasement Loop

While less physically explosive, fawning still engages stress hormones. In people who have learned to appease as a way to avoid harm (often from developmental trauma), the body may: Experience high cortisol but moderate adrenaline. Remain in a socially engaging state (ventral vagal), but driven by fear. Prioritise others’ needs at the expense of one’s own. Hide signs of distress to maintain perceived safety. Over time, this can lead to chronic burnout, resentment, digestive issues, and loss of self-identity, all while appearing outwardly calm and accommodating.


The Adrenaline Crash: After the Storm


Once the perceived danger passes: Adrenaline and cortisol levels begin to drop. The body tries to return to homeostasis, but this can take hours, or days.

This leads to a nervous system hangover (fatigue, fog, emotional depletion). If the system doesn't fully discharge, adrenaline lingers, keeping the body in a low-grade fight-or-flight mode. This chronic activation is a hallmark of complex trauma and can result in autoimmune issues, inflammation, cardiovascular strain, and long-term dysregulation.


Understanding these physiological processes underscores why trauma is not "all in your head", it’s a full-body event. Healing must therefore involve the entire nervous system, including regulating adrenaline, reestablishing safety, and restoring balance.


How Trauma Responses Present as Behaviour in Children and Adults


When the nervous system is stuck in a trauma response, the body acts first, and behaviour follows. Whether it's a child acting out in class or an adult withdrawing at work, these actions are not just "bad behavior" or personality flaws, they are expressions of a dysregulated nervous system trying to stay safe. Understanding this allows us to shift from judgment to compassion and opens the door to more effective support.


Fight Response: Behaviour in Children and Adults

Children: can look like - 

Hitting, biting, yelling

Defiance or opposition

Tantrums or meltdowns

Difficulty taking direction or criticism

Controlling or bossy behaviour


Adults:

Angry outbursts, sarcasm, or verbal aggression

Controlling tendencies (at work or home)

Perfectionism or micromanaging

High frustration tolerance for others but low self-awareness

Legal or relational conflict

Internal State: Fear masked as anger, feeling unsafe, cornered, or invalidated.


Flight Response: Behaviour in Children and Adults

Children:

Running away or hiding

Avoiding tasks, people, or responsibility

Fidgeting, hyperactivity (often mistaken for ADHD)

Obsessive behaviours or rituals

Anxiety around transitions


Adults:

Overworking, staying busy constantly

Avoiding confrontation, tasks, or emotional conversations

Social withdrawal or ghosting

Anxiety, panic attacks

Perfectionism or procrastination cycles

Internal State: "If I keep moving, I won’t be caught or hurt." A drive to escape perceived danger.


Freeze Response: Behaviour in Children and Adults

Children:

Zoning out, daydreaming

Staring blankly or seeming distant

Slow response time or mutism

Trouble with transitions or decision-making

May be labeled as "shy" or "unmotivated"


Adults:

Feeling stuck or paralysed when needing to act

Dissociation or mental “checking out”

Numbness or lack of emotional response

Inability to make decisions

Loss of time or memory gaps

Internal State: Overwhelm and helplessness—“I can’t do anything, so I’ll disappear.”


Fawn Response: Behaviour in Children and Adults

Children:

Excessive caretaking or “parenting” siblings

Always trying to please adults

Difficulty saying no or setting boundaries

Sensitivity to others’ moods

Over-apologising or people-pleasing


Adults:

Codependency or toxic relationships

Chronic people-pleasing at own expense

Avoiding conflict even when harmed

Loss of identity or preferences

Feeling resentful but unable to speak up

Internal State: “If I keep everyone happy, I’ll be safe.”


Flop Response: Behaviour in Children and Adults

Children:

Sudden collapse or fainting

Going limp when overwhelmed (sometimes mistaken for laziness)

Emotional shutdown

Unresponsive or appears disinterested


Adults:

Physical collapse or fainting under extreme stress

Giving up easily or not engaging

Severe dissociation or catatonic behavior

Substance use to stay numb

Appearing spaced-out, slow, or depressed

Internal State: “There’s nothing I can do. I’m not here.”


Why Understanding Behaviour Through This Lens Matters? 


When trauma responses are misunderstood: Children are punished instead of supported.

Adults are shamed for coping strategies they didn’t choose.

Schools and workplaces respond with discipline instead of regulation. People internalise labels like “difficult,” “lazy,” or “dramatic.” But when we view behaviour as communication from the nervous system, we can respond with the right support, regulation over reprimand, connection over correction.


Supporting someone exhibiting trauma-related behaviours, whether a child or adult, requires nervous system awareness, empathy, and co-regulation, not just talk or correction. These behaviours are not choices, they are survival responses


How to Support Someone in a Trauma Response


Stay Regulated Yourself (Co-Regulation) Your calm presence is the most powerful tool.

Breathe slowly and deeply to signal safety.

Use a soft, grounded voice, avoid shouting or fast speech.

Regulate your facial expressions (calm, neutral, kind).

Remain grounded in your own body, notice your feet, breath, posture.

Why it works: The nervous system seeks safety through connection. If you are calm, their system may mirror you (via the vagus nerve and mirror neurons).


Meet the Nervous System, Not Just the Behaviour

If someone is in:

Fight: Hold boundaries firmly but gently. Avoid power struggles. Let them discharge energy safely (e.g., walking, punching a pillow).

Flight: Offer permission to pause or take space, but stay nearby. Help them ground by noticing surroundings.

Freeze: Gently guide attention to the present. Offer cues of safety. Don’t force action or conversation.

Fawn: Reassure them it’s okay to have needs and say no. Practice healthy boundaries without rejection.

Flop: Offer quiet presence, non-demanding connection. Touch only with consent. Let their body come back online slowly.


Offer Grounding and Sensory Tools. These help down-regulate a dysregulated nervous system:

Touch: Weighted blanket, holding their hand, warm drink (if welcome)

Sight: Name 5 things in the room

Sound: Soft music or humming

Breath: Guide them to exhale longer than they inhale

Movement: Rocking, swaying, walking slowly, gentle tapping on body


Use Simple, Safe Language

“You’re not alone. I’m here with you.”

“It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling.”

“You’re safe right now.”

“We can slow down. No rush.”

“Would it help if we took a breath together?”

Avoid: “Calm down,” “What’s wrong with you?” or “You’re overreacting”, these can deepen the sense of danger.


Support Integration After the Response. Once they’re more regulated:

Reflect together (if appropriate): “What did your body need in that moment?”

Normalise the response: “Your body did what it needed to do to feel safe.”

Reinforce safety: “I’m proud of you for staying with it.”

Avoid shame: Do not punish or criticise them for the response.

For children, play or drawing can help them express and process. For adults, talking or journaling may help.


Encourage Professional Support

Long-term trauma responses may need:

Somatic therapy to discharge stored trauma

Polyvagal-informed therapy to rewire safety cues

EMDR, IEMT, or EFT to reprocess traumatic imprints

Breathwork and movement practices to restore nervous system flexibility

Safe relational spaces to build co-regulation

If someone is consistently outside their window of tolerance, therapeutic support is essential.


Why These Therapies Help: Healing from the Body Up

When trauma lives in the body, healing must also happen through the body, not just the mind. While talking can help us make sense of what happened, it often doesn’t reach the implicit memories or bodily imprints that keep the nervous system stuck in survival. This is where integrative, somatic-based, and creative therapies are transformative.


Somatic Therapy: Listening to the Body’s Story

Somatic therapy supports nervous system regulation by helping individuals become aware of internal sensations (interoception), discharge stored stress, and complete unprocessed survival responses.
Why it works:

Trauma disrupts the body’s ability to “complete” the stress cycle.

Somatic practices restore that flow through movement, breath, and mindful tracking.

The body is allowed to feel and release rather than suppress and store.

Techniques include:

Grounding and orienting exercises

Pendulation (gently moving between states of discomfort and safety)

Titration (processing trauma in small, manageable doses)

Movement, shaking, or stretching

Vagal toning practices (e.g., humming, gargling, breathwork)


Talking Therapy (Psychotherapy/Counseling): Making Meaning

While trauma isn’t only “in your head,” language is still essential in processing and integrating trauma.
Why it works:

Builds insight and self-awareness. Helps identify patterns, internal narratives, and triggers. Provides a safe relational space to feel seen, heard, and co-regulated

Supports the reconstruction of a coherent personal narrative, especially after fragmentation caused by trauma


Hypnotherapy: Accessing the Subconscious Mind

Hypnotherapy helps access deep-rooted beliefs and subconscious emotional patterns, often developed in early childhood or during trauma.
Why it works:

Trauma often embeds in the subconscious through protective beliefs (“I’m not safe,” “I must please others”)

Hypnosis allows a gentle and guided rewiring of the inner world

Brings the brain into theta brainwave states, where deep integration occurs


Breathwork: Resetting the Nervous System

Breath is one of the most accessible and direct tools to regulate the nervous system.
Why it works:

Activates the vagus nerve to shift the body into parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) mode

Discharges trapped energy from stress and trauma

Brings awareness back to the present moment through physical sensation

Can help release emotions stored in the diaphragm, lungs, and gut

Types include:

Diaphragmatic breathing

Box breathing

Circular or conscious connected breath

Coherent breathing (slowed rhythmic breath to balance heart and brain)


EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique): Tapping Into Safety

EFT combines gentle tapping on acupressure points with verbal affirmations.
Why it works:

Helps reduce activation in the amygdala (fear center of the brain)

Interrupts the body’s stress response with safe sensory input

Can desensitise emotional triggers and anchor in new beliefs

Simple enough to use independently for daily regulation


IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy): Reprocessing and Repatterning

IEMT uses guided eye movements to interrupt trauma patterns and reprocess memory imprints.
Why it works:

Works with neural pathways and memory reconsolidation

Accesses deep emotional encoding without needing to talk through the trauma

Supports both emotional regulation and cognitive shifts

Helps people detach from the “felt sense” of stuck identity or emotion (“I feel like I’m still there”)


Creative & Expressive Therapies: Moving Trauma Through Expression

Why Creativity Heals

Creative therapies bypass the analytical mind and help express what is too overwhelming, nonverbal, or suppressed. They create access to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is heavily involved in emotion, memory, and imagery, areas deeply affected by trauma.

Forms of creative support include:

Art therapy: Drawing, painting, or sculpting to express feelings and process symbolically

Music therapy: Using rhythm, sound, or melody to express emotion and engage the body

Dance/movement therapy: Releases stored tension, reconnects to the body’s sense of power and joy

Writing/journaling: Helps construct narrative and release rumination

Play therapy (for children and adults): Allows safe expression and mastery through metaphor and role-play

Why it works:

Trauma is often nonverbal, creative expression allows it to be seen and felt. Movement and play rebuild neural plasticity and vagal tone. Creativity helps shift the nervous system out of survival and into exploration and joy


Integration: Using Therapies Together. Most people benefit from a blended approach. For example:

Somatic therapy for body awareness and discharge

EFT for daily emotional regulation

Talk therapy for insight and narrative development

Breathwork and movement to build resilience

Creative work to reconnect with joy and self-expression

When therapies are layered intentionally, they support all aspects of healing: body, mind, emotion, and spirit.


The Most Supportive Thing You Can Do: Be a Safe Nervous System

You don’t need the perfect words or professional training to help someone in a trauma response. You just need to offer presence over pressurecompassion over control, and a regulated space where safety can be felt, not just explained.


Trauma Responses Are Not Character Flaws

Many people internalise their trauma responses as shameful or “just the way I am.” It’s crucial for us to know:

You’re not broken, your body adapted for survival.

These responses are intelligent and protective, not failures.

You can retrain your nervous system with safety, time, and support. This reframe alone can be profoundly healing.


Chronic Trauma Can Lead to Blended States. Not everyone fits neatly into one response. Many trauma survivors live in blended nervous system states:

Fight + Fawn: Aggressive self-sacrifice or burnout from over-pleasing.

Freeze + Flight: Anxious but unable to act, overthinking, stuck in loops.

Flop + Fawn: Total collapse masked by politeness or people-pleasing.

Recognising this can validate experiences that don’t fit textbook patterns.


Trauma Can Be Developmental, Not Just Event-Based. Trauma isn’t always caused by a single incident. Developmental or complex trauma. caused by chronic emotional neglect, inconsistent caregiving, or unsafe environments, can have just as profound an impact.

This helps people understand why they feel unsafe even if “nothing bad” happened.


Attachment and Nervous System Regulation Are Linked

Our earliest relationships shape how we regulate:

Secure attachment promotes nervous system flexibility.

Insecure attachment can keep the body in chronic activation or collapse.

Healing relationships (therapeutic or otherwise) can rewire attachment and regulation together.

Understanding this shows how co-regulation isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.


Healing Doesn’t Mean Never Getting Triggered. True healing doesn’t mean you never feel fear or freeze again. It means:

You recognise the response.

You have tools to return to safety.

You build trust in your ability to regulate, even when dysregulated.

This is nervous system resilience, a far more realistic and compassionate goal than permanent calm.


Joy, Play, and Pleasure Are Also Regulation Tools

So much trauma work focuses on managing distress. but joy, play, laughter, creativity, and safe connection actively tone the vagus nerve and expand the window of tolerance.


Finding Safety: The Window of Tolerance. The Window of Tolerance, coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, is the range of emotional arousal in which we can function and respond effectively. Trauma can shrink this window, making us swing quickly between hyperarousal (anxiety, panic) and hypoarousal(numbness, depression). The goal of trauma therapy is to expand the window, allowing the nervous system to regulate more flexibly and appropriately.


Reclaiming Regulation

Trauma is not a reaction of the mind alone, it is a full-body imprint of experiences that were once too overwhelming to process. By understanding the fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop responses through the lens of polyvagal theorysomatic memory, and the window of tolerance, we can begin to normalise these survival strategies and support healing.

Recovery is not about "fixing" what's broken, but reconnecting with the body's innate wisdom and learning how to feel safe again.


Whether you're dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma, bereavement or looking to break habits, reframe fears, or phobias. Phiona can help you develop approaches to overcome these barriers that prevent you from living life to the fullest. Helping you navigate life’s challenges and take the next step towards a brighter, calmer future.


If you feel you would like support, and you feel therapy may be the answer. I offer 15 minute complimentary  consultations, for you to have the chance to discover how therapy might support you. Visit my website for more information. 


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