#fight or flight

[surrah698]

My poor, sensitive nervous system... 😭

Gotta make sure to get plenty of rest!

[aejiee]

My favorite Conan song with my 2 favorite boys 😤🙏 @conangray-marauders-fest

[coffee-stainedwriting]

Fight, flight, freeze, fawn

When someone has adrenaline, they react with one pf the following four responses. If you want to write realistic characters, consider which they would do and then include it in your writing, even if it's very minor, it makes a big difference.

Fight; In an attempt to overcome the complication, the person fights back. Whether this is physical, emotional or spoken, the aim is to best the problem and be on top.

Flight; In an attempt to overcome the complication, the person flees. This can be physical (running from a predator) or mental (stop thinking about the problem). This reaction aims to put distance between the person and the problem.

Freeze; In an attempt to overcome the complication, the person stops their previous action. This can be physical, to avoid being seen or mental, like their thoughts or words stop. The freeze reaction aims to conceal themselves from the complication.

Fawn; In an attempt to overcome the complication, the person attempts to appease. The fawn reaction aims to avoid conflict, physically (talking to complication) or mentally (passing things off)

Keep in mind; sometimes their reactions aren't successful.

Thanks for reading, have a good day!

[whump-is-love-whump-is-life]

That’s a nice fight or flight response you got there. Sure would be a shame if it turned to fawn against your will

[colatine]

current hyperfixation ship fr

[sequs-art-box]

Muah 💜❤️

[aviywavy]

them eepy

original ref pic from the book🌟

[safe-haven-safe-place]

@jenpeters_soulguide_healer

[fan-a-tink]

Well, fight or flight, I'd rather die

Than have to cry in front of you

Fight or flight, I'd rather lie

Than tell you I'm in love with you

It's my move, fight or flight

[neuroticboyfriend]

i dont think people realize how painful it is to constantly live in survival mode. like fight/flight/freeze/etc. is reserved for when you're close to fucking dying. people weren't made to live entire lives in that state. can you imagine the damage that does?

[atompalmers]

first official look at josh hartnett in "fight or flight", out february 2025!

[autopsyfreak]

The ‘Fight Response’.

as someone who exclusively experiences the fight response as a trauma response, i’ve faced a lot of demonisation from others, including other victims of similar traumas to myself.

it seems apparent that there are still a large quantity of people who are only willing to offer kindness and understanding to victims if their trauma presents in the way of the flight response or freezing/fawning. the moment it results in lashing out, suddenly it’s perceived as cruel or you doing something abhorrent, despite the fact it comes from the same place as the other trauma responses.

i often see people giving more sympathetic and gentle responses to those who freeze or flight (this can lead to infantilisation, which isn’t appropriate either, however that is not the focus of this post), meanwhile i have almost never met anyone who has approached my reactions with that same level of caring.

if it is somehow hard to understand, think of it as an abused dog, which feels backed up against a wall. it’s common, in this instance, for that dog to growl and snap at you, perhaps even bite you in order to defend itself from a potential aggressor because that’s how it’s brain has determined is the best method to defend itself from this perceived threat. you don’t view that dog as malicious or mean. that dog isn’t cruel or evil, it’s traumatised. the dog in this scenario would be seen as something that just needs to be shown that people can be gentle and aren’t as dangerous as it’s been made to feel.

so why doesn’t this mindset apply to people?

why do so many people, including other abuse victims, still actively demonise those who’s brains do not cower in response to being triggered and instead yell or say things that may be upsetting?

i’ve met far too many people who have the freeze and flight responses, who will actively demonise people they meet who respond with the fight response. just because somebody’s trauma has led them to have a less conventional approach to feeling unsafe, doesn’t make them any more or less ‘evil’ than those who do cower and freeze.

you may be someone who freezes when triggered and someone else may be someone who lashes out when triggered, they both stem from your brain associating the situation with trauma and therefore perceiving a danger or threat and responding to that however it feels it has to in order to defend itself, to prevent the previous pain from being endured again. you’re not better or worse than each other for having differing responses, you just, like everyone else, have different brains.

do not demonise victims for developing so-called ‘negative’ responses as a result of their trauma.

[loganslowdown4]

I had a dream that Virgil literally stepped up against the Orange side. He was defending the other sides, putting himself between them and Orange, blocking him physically. Like it was down to ‘fight or flight’ and he chose FIGHT

I remember saying ‘oh fuck yeah’ quietly lol—

[conanssummerchild]

idk if i've already said this. who cares. mike is so 'fight or flight i'd rather die than have to cry in front of you' and will is so 'fight or flight i'd rather lie than tell you i'm in love with you'

[cull3nblaze]

Evan "Buck" Buckley - 9-1-1 "Fight or Flight" (2x13)

[sequs-art-box]

Wake up.