
Trauma Responses
What is Trauma?
Trauma happens when you go through a very stressful, frightening or distressing period of time, a single event or a group of events. The events don’t always have to happen to you, the event could be the sudden & unexpected death, or you may have witnessed a car accident. Trauma can also happen collectively in a community or globally, we have recently seen this with the pandemic.
Trauma can include events where you feel:
· Frightened
· Under threat
· Humiliated
· Rejected
· Abandoned
· Invalidated
· Unsafe
· Unsupported
· Trapped
· Ashamed
· Powerless.
Our Responses to Trauma
Friend
Calling for a ‘friend’ or bystander for help by shouting or screaming, an example maybe you have witnessed a stranger fall in the street & you need help to help them. Another example of this response is when someone makes friends with someone who is dangerous. This can be done by negotiating with a hostage taker for example.
*PLEASE note that this is not giving your attacker consent, it is an instinctive survival mechanism.
Freeze
Going tense, still & silent. This is a frequent reaction to rape & sexual violence. I need to remind you that Freezing is not giving consent. I fact it is an instinctive survival response. You can see it in animals, they freeze to avoid fights & or predators.
Fight
Physically fighting, pushing, struggling, & fighting verbally e.g., saying ‘no’.
Flight
Putting distance between you & the danger, including running, hiding, or backing away.
Flop
Your muscles become loose & your body goes floppy. This is an automatic response that can reduce the physical pain of what’s happening in the moment. Your mind can also shut down to protect itself.