A trauma response is your body's automatic and involuntary survival mechanism that is activated by your brain and nervous system when you face perceived danger or overwhelming stress and is also known as a fight, flight, freeze or fawn mechanism.
The trauma response results in reflexive coping strategies that are developed to protect yourself from and during threatening events, and can persist and result in emotional, physical and behavioral reactions to current triggers.
The primary types of trauma responses include fight, flight, freeze and fawn.
In the fight trauma response, it results in aggressive, defensive and or controlling behavior that is aimed at combating the threats.
The flight trauma response is when you escape, avoid or frantically manage situations to feel safe.
The freeze trauma response, results in being paralyzed, stuck, numb or in a dissociated state when you're not able to react.
And the fawn trauma response results in people pleasing, appeasing others to avoid conflict even sacrificing of personal boundaries.
Another type of trauma response is the fine/faint trauma response, in which you pretend everything is okay or fine or physically fainting.
The key symptoms and characteristics of trauma responses are automatic reactions, emotional and physical symptoms and the impact on your life.
While trauma responses are meant to protect you, the trauma responses can also interfere with your daily life functioning and even relationships and emotional regulation.
The emotional and physical symptoms of trauma responses include panic, anxiety, exhaustion, confusion, flashbacks or even dissociation.
And these trauma response actions are automatic reactions and occur without any conscious thought and are driven by the amygdala, which is your brain's fear center.
Trauma responses can triggered by current events remind your mind or body of any past trauma or unresolved trauma.