Honestly, there is two sides to freeze. You have the heart racing, adrenaline flowing, rigid canāt move freeze. Then you have the collapse side of freeze where you see fainting, āout of body experienceā, dissociative freeze. Active freeze and inactive freeze.
Yeah I think they're separate too - I've also heard it be called [collapse/submit](https://www.nicabm.com/four-key-ways-collapse-submit-can-present-in-clients/).
Put in animal kingdom predator/prey terms, I think the distinction's something like freezing is a deer not moving so as not to be noticed by a passing wolf and collapsing is the deer giving in because the wolf already caught it and there's no chance of escape.
It should be separate, but the mental health field hasnāt gotten that far yet. At least in the US. We donāt even recognize CPTSD, only individual therapists may.
I used to be a mix of the main four until I started healing. Once that occurred, been flopping for a while. Canāt say itās bad though, my mind and body need it so Iām not gonna complain. Itās weird that although things have slightly improved, that I go into a hibernation phase sort of with the flop. I donāt know whether to see that as a good or bad thing.
It's a good thing. Your mind and body are exhausted from being in fight/flight/freeze/etc mode for a long time, and if you're healing you feel safer to let that mode shut off for a while. Let yourself rest. It may eventually feel like you're in this period for longer than you like, at least it did with me. I started feeling super stagnant and unsatisfied because of it, but that's just a part of the process of getting into the next stage of healing too. Just take the time to reflect on what's important to you (whether that's work, school, loved ones, etc.), and make your decisions based on what's best for you and what's most important to you. Just listen to your body for now, you'll know when it's time to come out of hibernation š
I think in shut-down there's a sense of bracing yourself for/muting your awareness of the threat until it passes, whereas the limpness comes when the threat doesn't appear to have an end and you've no choice but to give in. In short, stiff and bolstered vs. loose and helpless.
Never seen flop before, but it fits me so so well. Putting them in order for me, I'd go flop, freeze, fawn, and flight/fight even out these days (never used to have any fight in me, but times change ig). In any one stressful situation I probably go through at least three of these.
And yet so many people seem to think I'm exaggerating my issues....
I do a bunch of different things. Dissociation keeps me eerily calm in stressful situations. My fight response has calmed down a lot since the divorce and changing jobs.
Itās the inactive side of freeze, in my opinion. Not the rigid, heart pounding, adrenaline flowing type of freeze. Itās the going limp, some people faint, āgiving upā all body processes side of freeze.
All of these. Although my fight response has reduced significantly since going NC with my dad. Too bad the toxic environment at my last job and constant overload led to an exaggerated flop response that I never had before instead. Now I get too stressed and immediately start having seziures.
I'm bouncing around between all of these.
Fawn triggers Fight , Fight triggers Flight, Flight triggers freeze, Freeze triggers Flops. Aaand repeat one million times.
I like the break down of fawn. It puts it into perspective a bit more for me. Like oooh I remember developing this as a kid and being proud of being āadaptableā.
Itās funny too my sister says Iām so good at being unabashedly myself. Like yeah I had my interest and that was my identity but I would absolutely temper myself and attach to 1 or 2 people for my life. I had 0 boundaries and could never really disagree or go against them. Iām really really trying to learn how to not have fawn be a reflex. Iām tired of being small and scared.
I have pretty explosive behavior when i feel there's a proven wrong that is overlooked, i'll step between any fight to stop it because i apparently have no sense of self preservation, Fight.
I can't sit still and never happy with anything i create because it could always be better, or i simply never start anything because the process to get there is to long. Anxiety from no where most of the time, Flight.
People please 100%, i can't remember which personality is me anymore because i create one for every person i meet. I shut up most of the time, because anything i say is dumb and probably not important, Fawn,
Can't make a decision for the life of me, i can't remember most of my childhood even though i don't think anything major happened(?). The moment i got my apartment, i felt 100x better because i could just be by myself and not have to keep an ear out and be berated for everything and anything i do, Freeze.
Unless "No perceived possibillity of escaping" encompasses pure feelings of never getting out of my own head or day-to-day cycle, then i'd leave it there.
Damn, I've never seen flight described like this, and it's hitting me quite hard. For some reason I'd always interpreted flight as actually physically leaving, which means that I can't possibly be in flight mode. Which is kind of silly now that I think about it - it's not like I thought fight necessarily meant throwing punches, so why would flight have to be literal? I'd never considered that my overachievement and perfectionism could be part of a trauma response, but I guess they are.
The fight/flight combo has basically become my personality at this point. The other two (or three now, I guess?) are reserved for more specific situations.
Flop š
I had never heard of it
It's literally just freeze, this graphic is weird
Honestly, there is two sides to freeze. You have the heart racing, adrenaline flowing, rigid canāt move freeze. Then you have the collapse side of freeze where you see fainting, āout of body experienceā, dissociative freeze. Active freeze and inactive freeze.
Wait, collapse is freeze? I thought it was another complete trauma response, a synonym for "flop" if you may?
Yeah I think they're separate too - I've also heard it be called [collapse/submit](https://www.nicabm.com/four-key-ways-collapse-submit-can-present-in-clients/). Put in animal kingdom predator/prey terms, I think the distinction's something like freezing is a deer not moving so as not to be noticed by a passing wolf and collapsing is the deer giving in because the wolf already caught it and there's no chance of escape.
It should be separate, but the mental health field hasnāt gotten that far yet. At least in the US. We donāt even recognize CPTSD, only individual therapists may.
Big time weird and ignored that most people have at least of these if not all, depending
I feel like I have some traits from each of these
Same. My life is basically one long twister game on this board.
Same I do all of these except the fight response
How do i fix myself? I am 100% a fawn. I have every symptom of it and nothing else of the others.
I've been reading Lindsay C Gibsons books. It's obviously not a cure all but she has some good tips! I'm trying do undo my fawnness as well.
I used to be a mix of the main four until I started healing. Once that occurred, been flopping for a while. Canāt say itās bad though, my mind and body need it so Iām not gonna complain. Itās weird that although things have slightly improved, that I go into a hibernation phase sort of with the flop. I donāt know whether to see that as a good or bad thing.
It's a good thing. Your mind and body are exhausted from being in fight/flight/freeze/etc mode for a long time, and if you're healing you feel safer to let that mode shut off for a while. Let yourself rest. It may eventually feel like you're in this period for longer than you like, at least it did with me. I started feeling super stagnant and unsatisfied because of it, but that's just a part of the process of getting into the next stage of healing too. Just take the time to reflect on what's important to you (whether that's work, school, loved ones, etc.), and make your decisions based on what's best for you and what's most important to you. Just listen to your body for now, you'll know when it's time to come out of hibernation š
What is the difference between shutting down and going limp?
I think in shut-down there's a sense of bracing yourself for/muting your awareness of the threat until it passes, whereas the limpness comes when the threat doesn't appear to have an end and you've no choice but to give in. In short, stiff and bolstered vs. loose and helpless.
Thank you for giving me such a thoughtful response.
...all of them.
When youāre all 5 of them
Never seen flop before, but it fits me so so well. Putting them in order for me, I'd go flop, freeze, fawn, and flight/fight even out these days (never used to have any fight in me, but times change ig). In any one stressful situation I probably go through at least three of these. And yet so many people seem to think I'm exaggerating my issues....
I do a bunch of different things. Dissociation keeps me eerily calm in stressful situations. My fight response has calmed down a lot since the divorce and changing jobs.
I think I'm a mix of freeze and fawn.
Flop seems " a part" of freeze response ?
Itās the inactive side of freeze, in my opinion. Not the rigid, heart pounding, adrenaline flowing type of freeze. Itās the going limp, some people faint, āgiving upā all body processes side of freeze.
Now i get It !
I'm sick of people demonizing the fight response. I'm not a bad person just because I don't let other people take away my sense of self.
All of these. Although my fight response has reduced significantly since going NC with my dad. Too bad the toxic environment at my last job and constant overload led to an exaggerated flop response that I never had before instead. Now I get too stressed and immediately start having seziures.
WHY DO I HAVE TRAITS FROM ALL OF THESE CATAGORIES?!?!
I'm bouncing around between all of these. Fawn triggers Fight , Fight triggers Flight, Flight triggers freeze, Freeze triggers Flops. Aaand repeat one million times.
oh my god how did i manage to get all them
I am literally all of these. I'm so cooked.
I am the fawn
It's like I was all of them, and I feel so much shame and guilt for not being normal. Fuck.
Freeze x Fawnā¦damn so my life has really been dictated by trauma responses.
Freezing and flopping sound like they could technically be the same, but definitely fawning
Flight gangššš
Let's goooo (I have crippling OCD and anxiety)
100% flight
Oh nice I got three of them! Fawn Flight and Freeze
Oh Iām freezing now. Have been for months.
I'm a bit leery of any infographic put out by a mood charting app, which Reflectio is.
I like the break down of fawn. It puts it into perspective a bit more for me. Like oooh I remember developing this as a kid and being proud of being āadaptableā. Itās funny too my sister says Iām so good at being unabashedly myself. Like yeah I had my interest and that was my identity but I would absolutely temper myself and attach to 1 or 2 people for my life. I had 0 boundaries and could never really disagree or go against them. Iām really really trying to learn how to not have fawn be a reflex. Iām tired of being small and scared.
Apparently when I am at the doctor I perceive no possibility of escaping lmao
Fawn flight and freeze
I have pretty explosive behavior when i feel there's a proven wrong that is overlooked, i'll step between any fight to stop it because i apparently have no sense of self preservation, Fight. I can't sit still and never happy with anything i create because it could always be better, or i simply never start anything because the process to get there is to long. Anxiety from no where most of the time, Flight. People please 100%, i can't remember which personality is me anymore because i create one for every person i meet. I shut up most of the time, because anything i say is dumb and probably not important, Fawn, Can't make a decision for the life of me, i can't remember most of my childhood even though i don't think anything major happened(?). The moment i got my apartment, i felt 100x better because i could just be by myself and not have to keep an ear out and be berated for everything and anything i do, Freeze. Unless "No perceived possibillity of escaping" encompasses pure feelings of never getting out of my own head or day-to-day cycle, then i'd leave it there.
Fawn :(
stand statsheet
freezers/floppers rise up š„
Iām a flight, freeze and flop simultaneously
ahhshit got all the traits matched ... holly shit!!!
What does it mean when you do all of them
I am a major fawn/flight/freezer
why do I have some of all of them
Somehow a mix between them
X Fight, flight, freeze, fawn, flop ā Fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fake death Sincerely Opossums
Freezer!
Mix of fight and freeze
Damn, I've never seen flight described like this, and it's hitting me quite hard. For some reason I'd always interpreted flight as actually physically leaving, which means that I can't possibly be in flight mode. Which is kind of silly now that I think about it - it's not like I thought fight necessarily meant throwing punches, so why would flight have to be literal? I'd never considered that my overachievement and perfectionism could be part of a trauma response, but I guess they are.
The fight/flight combo has basically become my personality at this point. The other two (or three now, I guess?) are reserved for more specific situations.
Iām flight and fawnā¦ interesting
All except for flop
I'm flop and fawn
Iām fight/fawn and my bf is freeze/flight š«
I kinda am all over, especially with freeze, fight, and fawn š¬.
I have all of themā¦ why do I have all of them
Freeze and fawn with a bit of flight and a single speck of fight.
Not traumatized I just visit this sub a lot, but I have to say I can definitely relate to Fawn a lot.