In older times, the fight or flight response was necessary because there were more tangible threats in the physical environment. Your body is strictly in survival mode our bodies place everything else on the backburner. In this state, breathing and blood pressure may increase. In the 1920s, American physiologist Walter Cannon was the first to describe the fight or flight stress response. For example, if you have been attacked by a dog and survive, future encounters with dogs may elicit a stressful response based on the past event stored in your memory.īased on recent research on the acute stress response, several alternative perspectives on trauma responses have surfaced.³ Five of these responses include Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, and Flop. When you are faced with a dangerous situation, your body immediately responds to the perceived threat, which can be triggered by past trauma. This can profoundly impact our quality of life for years beyond the initial traumatic event. Often, traumatic incidents can affect the survival systems that give us a sense of control, connection, and meaning. Less-extreme forms of trauma may include:īoth extreme and less extreme forms of trauma can instigate a physiological reaction that triggers certain hormones in the body. Seeing another person hurt or a dead body.Unexpected death or loss of a loved one.Prolonged physical torture or kidnapping.Living through a natural disaster or war.Traumatic events have primary effects not only on our overall functioning but can also destroy an individual’s fundamental assumptions about the safety of the world, the value of self, and the order of the society at large.² Sources of Trauma Trauma has been defined as an “overwhelming life-altering event, resulting in pervasive physical, psychological, or emotional distress.”¹ Generally speaking, trauma is a stressful life event often accompanied by shock and a survival response. In this article, we will look at the causes of trauma, different responses to trauma, and how to manage trauma responses in a healthy way. However, trauma responses are much more varied, and trauma responses in the same category will look different from person to person. In the past, we have typically categorized these responses in three ways: fight, flight, and freeze. Just like there are many different forms of trauma, there are many different responses to trauma.
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