Fight, Flight, or Freeze

Welcome back to another blog post! I cannot believe it is April already. The sun seems to be shining more and I am oh so grateful. Today I am going to talk about Fight, Flight, or Freeze. I am sure you have a basic understanding of what this is, but I am going to share how this impacts your mind and body.

Fight and flight have long been understood as the body's innate response to fear and stress. These emotional responses trigger a chemical change in our bodies that heighten awareness and fuel strength and speed. Our ancestors’ ability to survive depended on these responses. Life now, however, is very different. We don’t live in daily fear of being eaten or being prepared to fight at any moment to protect our land or families. Because of that, the body has adapted a new emotional response we’ll call freeze. We have time to process fears and stress now so it is becoming commonplace to do nothing. 

Be very leery of the freeze response. This is our comfort zone, our overthinking zone, this leads to procrastination, and keeps us from driving forward because doing nothing feels safe. 

Let’s look at a scenario: Do you ever find yourself feeling a large amount of fear in response to certain stressors and the ripple effect of not knowing what to do next, leaving you immobile and stuck? Then you may be experiencing this freeze response. These stress responses are completely normal, but my biggest trick to overcome them is to recognize they exist and knowing how to effectively adapt. When you are in a state of panic, it can be difficult to see clearly. It may become overwhelming, intense, and continue to exist in autopilot the rest of your day. I suggest trying out deep breathing and making sure to inhale all the way into your belly. Another technique is the 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 method. Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This helps our mind not go down the rabbit hole of spiraling thoughts. Another mechanism to have is someone who you can reach out to when you are feeling like this. Support systems are necessary to stay sane, and someone such as a mentor or coach can be extremely helpful for these situations as well because they may have techniques to effectively move past the stress response and refuel it into a more positive purpose.

More questions? Do not hesitate to reach out! Learning about our stress response, especially freeze, is crucial for learning how to master your time. Remember you cannot pour from an empty cup!

Have a great rest of April, Tick Tockers.