The four stress responses are fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.
Get a breakdown of what each means, and tips for controlling which you use.
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Consider an activated sympathetic nervous system as your survival instincts kicked into high gear.
The 4 stress responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn
1.
Fight
According to Dr. Daramus, fight is an aggressive response that movestowardthe challenge.
Chicago-based psychotherapist
It might come out in a literal sensefighting in a verbal or physical way.
But, there are also other, less on-the-nose applications of the flight stress response.
In this case, the flight response is activated due to the perceived threat thatisthe stress of your job.
Freeze
The freeze responseis sort of being paralyzed, not being able to move, says Dr. Hafeez.
It is inaction to dispel the threat.
Folks who experience the freeze response neither fight nor run away, says Dr. Daramus.
Essentially, freezing is an urge to hide from the problem.
You have a go at get the threat on your side.
You might also take the blame, even though its not completely (or at all) your fault.
Chicago-based psychotherapist
Even still, its possible to over-explain your trauma if you fall into the fawn stress response.
For instance, you might feel like someones just not seeing where youre coming from.
How do we develop stress responsesand then work to change them?
Someones natural anxiety levels can come into play in terms of determining stress responses.
From there, ask yourself questions like: Were you happy with the outcome?
How would you change that style?
What would you do differently if you were in that same situation again?
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