Most of us know about the “fight or flight” response, the body’s built-in survival instinct. But that framework leaves out ...

Fight or flight are not the only common responses to a traumatic event. I addressed this a bit in a column published on November 22, 2022 explaining that some authors describe “4 F’s”: fight, flight, ...

When you're stuck in survival mode but your actions aren't Functional freeze is when someone goes into autopilot as a response to chronic stress and trauma. Unlike other trauma responses, someone in ...

Before Porges’ (2011) polyvagal theory became widely known, it was commonly thought that the autonomous nervous system has only two branches: the sympathetic system which manages in times of stress, ...

When we talk about trauma, we often mention the three well-known responses: fight, flight or freeze. It’s the idea that everyone has an instinctive survival mechanism to confront (fight), escape ...

So, you've started to notice some patterns in your life, and you're wondering why you react the way you do. Emotional habits can feel like second nature, but sometimes they're more than just quirks.

"Playing the victim." It's a phrase that's typically thrown out in a derogatory manner to denote what's seen as a manipulative tactic. Other times, a person will repeatedly fall into a state of ...