Breaking down different trauma responses

Data suggest that nearly 90% of U.S. adults experience at least one potentially traumatic event ^[1] during their lives. When you face something scary, your brain instinctively tries to protect you. This might include running away, confronting the threat, or trying to downplay the situation. 

We all experience trauma differently, and understanding your typical trauma response can be an important part of healing and recovery. 

Different types of trauma responses

When a person feels scared or threatened, it triggers an involuntary response to help keep them safe. The part of the brain associated with emotional processing, the amygdala, sends a distress signal ^[2] to the brain's command center, the hypothalamus. Based on that signal, your body will respond to the perceived threat. 

The four main types of trauma responses are:

1. Fight response 

The fight response ^[3] is triggered by the sympathetic nervous system. When your body senses danger, it prepares to confront the perceived threat. You might feel angry, aggressive, and tense. 

Example: You're driving home, and you get into a minor car accident. With the fight response, you jump out of your car and confront the other driver about their mistake. 

2. Flight response

The sympathetic nervous system also activates the flight response. Instead of confronting a threat, the flight response urges you to avoid or escape it. This means you might remove yourself from stressful situations to avoid being hurt. 

Example: After someone hits your car, you choose to drive away without exchanging insurance information with the other driver. 

3. Freeze response 

The freeze response ^[4] is sometimes described as fight-or-flight mode on hold. Although you’re alert, you’re unable to confront or escape the danger. With the freeze response, your muscles become tense, your heart rate drops, and you feel emotionally numb or disconnected. 

Example: You freeze the moment your car is hit. Even when the other driver is walking toward you, you find it difficult to roll down your window or even process what’s happening. 

4. Fawn response

The fawn response ^[5] is when you escape harm by pleasing or appeasing ^[5] the threat. This means you might abandon your own needs to avoid conflict or criticism. 

Example: With the fawn response, you might laugh off the accident or imply that it was your fault.

Common symptoms of trauma responses

Trauma can cause a range of physical and emotional responses ^[6]. In the days and weeks after a traumatic event, it’s normal to experience emotions like anger, sadness, grief, and/or shame ^[7]. As you process trauma, you may find that you’re on edge, unable to concentrate, or avoiding certain people and places.

Trauma symptoms can last anywhere from days to months, depending on the severity of the trauma. With the right support, your symptoms may resolve without any long-term consequences ^[8]. But sometimes, the body stays on high alert, reacting as if danger is still present even when you’re safe. When this happens, trauma responses can start to interfere with daily life and well-being.

Here’s what it might look like to be stuck in a trauma response: 

• Fight: The fight response may show up as irritability, angry outbursts, and controlling behaviors.

• Flight: Anxiety, rumination, and perfectionism are all associated with the flight response. 

• Freeze: The freeze response can involve dissociation, emotional numbness, and difficulty making decisions.

• Fawn: Signs of the fawn response include codependency, people-pleasing behaviors, and difficulty setting personal boundaries. 

How trauma responses are triggered

A trauma response is the way you respond to a dangerous or distressing event. Some examples of traumatic events include:

• Loss of a loved one

• Physical, sexual, emotional, or financial abuse

• Bullying or harassment

• Acts of mass violence 

• Natural disasters 

• Being the victim of a crime 

The way you respond to trauma depends on several factors ^[8], including your temperament, coping skills, and social support. The type of traumatic experience can also play a role in your response. If you have a history of ongoing trauma, like childhood abuse ^[9], your brain may be more likely to activate fear responses. 

When symptoms are severe enough to impact your daily functioning, it may be a sign of a trauma disorder like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With PTSD, your body stays on alert ^[10] even when you’re actually safe. 

Support for trauma reactions and recovery

If irritability or anxiety keep showing up, your body might still be reacting as if it’s under stress or in danger. Regular exercise, quality sleep, and mindfulness and meditation exercises can all help restore balance to your body and mind.

Another option is to meet with a trauma-informed therapist. Therapy provides a safe space to identify trauma triggers, manage their effects, and process what you’ve been through. Several types of therapy are used to help people reestablish a sense of safety and security following trauma. These include: 

• Somatic therapy: During somatic therapy, you’ll use the mind-body connection to help you process your trauma and emotions.The goal is to release painful memories, emotions, and sensations so you can restore balance to your body.

• Psychodynamic therapy: Psychodynamic therapy can show you how your experiences influence your thoughts and behaviors. It’s often used to help people with complex trauma.

• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR helps people identify and process traumatic memories. Through bilateral stimulation techniques, you can learn to calm your nervous system and control trauma symptoms.

Clinician’s take

Everyone’s trauma responses look different because we all have different life stories and coping styles. Once you understand how your body reacts to stress, you can start working with it instead of feeling like it’s working against you.

Brandy Chalmers, LPC

Clinical reviewer