Responses to Trauma (And What They Don’t Say About You)

We All Respond Differently…

…to every situation that comes our way. 

Think about the last time you were faced with a crisis of some sort. Who else was in the room? How did you all respond? Chances are, there was a vast range of reactions. While some meet an unexpected crisis head on and matter-of-factly, others may feel overwhelmed by their feelings or physical responses. Still others may flee the scene, afraid that they’ll do something wrong or fearful of what they may encounter. Some may process the incoming experience quickly and be able to make fast decisions. Others may take on the situation and react quickly, but find that processing the event afterward takes a lot of time and effort. The fact is, everyone responds differently to the trauma they’ve experienced and those responses stem from both the subconscious and the previous traumas they’ve endured.

What Can Not Be Said of Trauma Responses

There is a lot to say about trauma response and we’ll explore the three main responses here. What can not be said of trauma responses is that they are an expression of your character. Whether you find yourself freezing up during traumatic experiences, struggling to defend yourself or someone you love, or fleeing the scene as quickly as possible, your trauma response is something that your nervous system innately triggers in moments of crisis. Your trauma response is both your body and mind’s innate way of providing protection whenever it senses danger. 

Your trauma response is not a reflection of your character—it’s your body’s way of protecting you.

Consider what your trauma response is, do some inward investigation about why it may be what it is or how you’d like to be aware of it next time you find yourself in a crisis. Then spend some time in gratitude that God has created your subconscious to do what it can to take care of you!

During trauma, our bodies gather energy. Something is going wrong and we must find a way to get through, get away, or disengage. That typically looks like one of these responses.

Trauma Responses

1. Fight

During the “fight” response, our bodies mobilize the energy that’s suddenly been gathered, and deterring the immediate threat becomes the number one goal. You may find that your body is moving faster than your brain. You’re ready to take on unreasonable risk to do what you need to do to eliminate the danger.

2. Flight

The flight response happens when the subconscious senses the danger is too severe to take on. The energy that’s suddenly been stored up becomes a resource for fleeing the situation.

3. Freeze

Those who experience a “freeze” trauma response are overwhelmed by the crisis at hand and find it easier to mentally disengage from the experience, no matter how threatening it is. These trauma survivors may live in shame because they didn’t work towards positive action during trauma, but their bodies were simply doing the best they could to keep them safe.

Time with a professional counselor can help you discover and define your natural trauma response, untangle how it’s affected your healing process, and move you towards greater understanding of yourself, and enable you to offer yourself more compassion.   

Put It Into Practice

Our bodies and minds are so beautifully connected.

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Take a moment to think through the way you physically felt during a traumatic event. How did your body process the crisis in the moment and did that affect how you handled the situation? Jot down your most noticed physical responses and take them to your next counseling session. They may provide insight on your trauma responses and allow you to take better care of yourself the next time something difficult happens.

Other interesting reads about trauma