18/02/2026
Your trauma responses are not personality flaws.
They are automatic survival strategies your nervous system developed when you needed protection.
Fight → Appears as aggression or irritability; actually your body trying to regain control and feel safe.
Flight → Appears as overworking or avoidance; actually your body escaping discomfort.
Freeze → Appears as procrastination or low motivation; actually your nervous system shutting down from overwhelm.
Fawn → Appears as people-pleasing; actually staying safe by keeping others happy.
These responses are supported by trauma-informed neuroscience:
Polyvagal Theory (Stephen Porges) – explains hierarchical survival responses in the autonomic nervous system.
Complex trauma research (Bessel van der Kolk) – shows trauma reorganizes the nervous system, making these automatic behaviors adaptive, not maladaptive.
Fawn response (Pete Walker) – explains people-pleasing and self-abandonment as a survival strategy in chronic trauma.
✨ Healing begins when we replace shame with understanding. Recognizing your nervous system’s survival strategies is the first step.
Which response do you notice in yourself?
Fight • Flight • Freeze • Fawn