Fawn trauma response how to#

What is the Fawn Response?ĭifferent from the fight, flight and freeze responses, the fawn response points to people-pleasing. If you have the “freeze” response early in life, you may be predisposed to experience freeze symptoms later in life. This response is also associated with “shell shock” or basic post-traumatic reactions. You stop thinking, stop moving, and, in some cases, stop breathing.īecause your body stops, it is an unconscious act of dissociation with whatever is happening around you. You are so overwhelmed by fear that your body stops. A fawn response occurs when a person’s brain acts as if they unconsciously perceive a threat, and compels survival behavior that keeps them under the radar. You might be wondering, what exactly are the freeze and fawn responses? Two of the four trauma responses (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn) that can stem from childhood trauma, and they both involve symptoms of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Fawn trauma response how to#

When the going gets tough in your relationships, what is your gut reaction? Do you feel like you spend most of your time pleasing other people? Or do you have a hard time knowing how to meet your needs? Maybe you feel like you don’t see a fight response or flight response in yourself, but you notice one of the two lesser-known responses: the freeze and fawn responses.