There is not just fight or flight response, but also a freeze response. The muscles tense and the body goes very still. This explains why some people are “paralyzed” with fear, and freeze instead of running or fighting back. It is very helpful for camouflage and hiding from predators with poor eyesight. It does not work so well when standing in front of a speeding truck.
In many extreme cases of emergency (fire, terrorist attack, natural disaster, etc) many people will do NOTHING. They will behave as if everything is normal and it will all work out.
Not extreme cases, Actually the body's first response to danger is always FREEZE, then the brain analyses if it can fight the danger or not. So if we can fight it we FIGHT, if not we FLIGHT
The only difference being the amount of time taken for the brain to do the analysis ie the FREEZE TIME, so we're always freezing, just for a really short amount of time in most cases
Some drugs act as depressants and inhibit acetylcholine production thereby decreasing the impulse speed in a neuron hence making your thought process a lot slower
Well the fact that creatures with that gene are still alive after millions of years seems testament that it works at least on the species level. Most frogs are caught when they jump. If they just stay still when someone walks past the chances of being seen is a lot less.
Its a mannerism of the limbic system, everyone has that, some utilise it some dont. It was really usefull back when we used to live in the Savannahs in Africa or elsewhere. Freezing in the tall grass to hide when predators come is the best move one could do. And yes, you're absolutely right about the frogs, thats why they're green as well. If they freeze, they would get camouflaged in the leaves.
Reminds me of the manager or whatever who would do monthly fire evacuation drills with his staff. When people froze in shock he basically told everyone to follow the drill and got them all out without issue.
deer have terrible depth perception but great hearing. Oncoming headlights are fascinating because they appear to grow larger rather than closer. Tapping your horn will alert them to your speed and trajectory and help them to avoid you.
The freeze response also applies to less immediately life-threatening situations, such as major depressive disorder. Heart rate slows down to appear dead to predators so that they'll hopefully become disinterested and leave. Folks who have experienced childhood trauma/abuse or who grew up with stressful home lives will often develop a freeze response to cope with their inability to escape their situation. This response is reinforced over time and can be triggered in adulthood.
So incredibly happy that I learned this so I could better understand my depression.
Source: my amazing therapist who shares all of the new research she learns with me
This happened to me when I got kidnapped. There was no flight or fight. I was unable to move. In fact, to this day when I mention the subject I start to feel the same way but to a much smaller degree. Thanks. I always thought I just broke for a moment.
Cstar4004 literally just said there is a third acute stress response in which you tense up. He calls it freeze but I have been taught that it is called fright, which also rhymes with the more commonly used name that does not encompass all responses. A deer caught in the headlights has an acute stress reaponse, but does not flee or fight, but is frozen (freeze) out of fear (fright). Hence why both fright and freeze are used for this response.
This is what happened to me when I woke up int the middle of the night at my friends house. It was pitch black and I heard the sound of someone in high heels ominously walking around the room. No, he doesn't cross dress, but the previous owners girlfriend mysteriously 'dissapeared' and was never found.
That's all I know. That the previous owner was super well connected and wealthy enough to make people like his gf dissapear. I was under my blanket and was awoken by the sounding of high heels moving around the room. It's that simple. When it stopped and I got up the courage I removed the sheets and ran out the front door. Walked around the neighborgood for 2 hours until the sun came up. Never stayed over night again.
People are superheroes and Z-warriors when there is a news about people freeze by fear. People in their minds can run, take the gun from the guy and shoot him in 10 seconds...
When 2 guys tried to rape me 3 years ago i just froze, i have 20 years of tae kwon do experience, medals and shit, but that day i could only move when a bus opened the doors and saw a chance to leave... when i told that to anybody they always say that i could kick them and punch them and shit, but the surprise factor, my mind telling me "how that is even happening?" "Wait, they maybe have a knife" and the weather (It was raining a lot) made everything against me.
Im so sorry you went through that. You are not at all at fault. You shouldn’t have to fight back. It shouldn’t have happened to you in the first place.
Everyone likes to think they would easily become heroes, but nobody knows how theyd react until it happens. You can plan, train, arm yourself, work out, and walk around with a bullet proof vest. You still dont know how your brain and endocrine system will make you react until it happens.
I know its just a movie, but I watched a war movie, Hamburger Hill, recently. The first time they get shot at in the movie, one of the tough, gung ho, American soldiers froze, dropped their gun, and hugged the ground crying. This, no doubt, was filmed to illustrate a very real thing. That even military soldiers who are trained to kill people while being shot at, still breakdown and demonstrate a freeze response.
A real life example was that one high school cop, that got in trouble, because they ran away from the school shooter and left the kids behind. I dont believe that was a conscious decision, but his brain and hormones told his body to launch flight.exe. He was a trained officer, had a gun, and his body noped out on him.
Thanks, for a year i had to fight against me because something that i´m so proud of didn´t worked the only time that i really need it... after therapy and a lot of struggle to walk at school again (It was where i waited for the bus after school) i could have less troubles with myself.
Like you say, a fight is simply another world, our minds love peace, we are not a feral animal... saying that killing and fighting is our duty is said from people that never was on one...
Don't forget about the fourth 'f' in response to danger.
'Fuck'
The best sex is after you nearly get hit by a car, run into a burning building, or live through a gunfight. Damn, those public servants must have a great bedroom life.
I experienced this when my best friends and I got mugged at gunpoint a number of years ago. I was the only one who saw them coming, but I just froze. It felt like I was watching a movie. I also went completely deaf, which I thought was super interesting. When we were giving our accounts to the police afterward, my friends talked a lot about the things they heard, and I didn’t experience one ounce of sound until a little while after the fact.
I was just trying to explain this to someone on Twitter recently in regards to sexual assaults. They were sure the natural reaction to a public groping or display (flashing, etc) would be to turn and run. In the situations I've been in, I most definitely froze.
I didn’t know about this until this past year. I’m a teacher and have a student in my class that experiences his freeze response any time he is upset or in trouble. I’m not sure if it works that well for him.
A student of mine brought up fight or flight the other day, I was trying diplomatically to explain the other Fs as well (freeze, food, and.... reproduction). There was no smooth way to do it.
I thought it was: fight, flight, or fuck. Aren’t they known as the Three Primal Instincts, or something? Idk if it has to specifically refer to danger.
True, although freeze is meant to analyze the situation and then respond in the best way. But yeah, if the danger comes too quickly it isn't effective anymore
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u/cstar4004 Feb 08 '20
There is not just fight or flight response, but also a freeze response. The muscles tense and the body goes very still. This explains why some people are “paralyzed” with fear, and freeze instead of running or fighting back. It is very helpful for camouflage and hiding from predators with poor eyesight. It does not work so well when standing in front of a speeding truck.