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Freeze Response

Introduction

The freeze response is part of your fight or flight response. This state can be caused by an extreme amount of fear. Then your mind freezes up hence the name. It puts you in a trance-like state where you can not move. This is also known as [https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fight-flight-or-freeze-response#:~:text=What%20happens%20during%20'freeze'%3F,take%20action%20against%20the%20danger. "attentive immobility"] where you are extremely alert but unable to move. The freeze response is just like Fight or Flight as it is an acute stress response. This means it can be caused by certain stimuli and also past trauma.

An in-depth look at the Freeze response

As stated the freeze response is a stress response. This response is caused when the person feels extreme fear due to a stressor stimulus. An example of people the freeze response is common is people who felt great amounts of fear during their childhood. This could be caused by their parents or guardians not offering protection in their childhood. This could take the form of physical or emotional abuse. This can lead to these people disassociating and developing anxiety or panic disorders, or in the most extreme cases PTSD otherwise known as a post-traumatic stress disorder.

Identifying the response

There are some ways to tell you are having a freeze response. [https://www.ashleytreatment.org/rehab-blog/learning-about-stress-responses/#:~:text=Freeze%20%E2%80%93%20Feeling%20stuck%20in%20a,sense%20of%20dread%20or%20foreboding. These are] feeling stuck in a certain part of your body, feeling cold or numb, physical stiffness or limb heaviness, restricted breathing or held breath, and a sense of dread. These are different from fight, flight, or fawning. How they are different is fight is a feeling of anger, flight is a feeling of restlessness, freezing is a feeling of almost hopelessness, and fawning is people-pleasing behavior.

Resources

“Fight, Flight, or Freeze Response: Signs, Causes, and Recovery.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fight-flight-or-freeze-response.

“A Closer Look at Stress Responses.” Ashley Addiction Treatment, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.ashleytreatment.org/rehab-blog/learning-about-stress-responses/#:~:text=Freeze%20%E2%80%93%20Feeling%20stuck%20in%20a,sense%20of%20dread%20or%20foreboding.