Everyone has a natural stress response: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn Exposure to trauma can cause these responses to appear when they're not necessary. Therapy and mindfulness can help manage an ...

Most people know the fight-or-flight response, a survival mechanism ... high-profile legal cases involving sexual assault, a third trauma response—freeze—where people simply remain still ...

Trauma disrupts trust, safety, and control. Recovery is possible through therapy, support, and small steps that help ...

I think you are so desensitized from trauma that you literally are frozen in fight or flight. One time in life, something happened, and you remained calm - and that worked for you, so you will ...

When your nervous system has been primed by trauma, you can overreact to perceived "dangers" that aren't life-threatening, like when your boss questions you or someone cuts in line in front of you.

Shaylee Mejia, 16, died of "blunt head trauma" 10 days after she was attacked in a fight at her high school Charna Flam is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023.