c/trauma·Posted by u/jordan_hale·5mo ago
Why do I freeze instead of fight or flight? I feel like I'm broken.
I still catch myself asking permission to call it trauma, which feels like part of the original wound. I don't even have a clean name for it. I just know it keeps running the day. Some days I feel older than I am. Some days I feel twelve and still waiting for it to be over. I figured if anyone would get it, it would be people here. If you crawled out of a similar hole, I want the unglamorous version of how.
Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.
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u/gray_mornings5mo ago
Fawn is real too. 'Fight, flight, freeze, fawn' — and fawn is the most invisible.
u/one_more_try5mo ago
This is exactly it. Thank you for putting it into words.
u/nate_feldman5mo ago
Freeze is the most misunderstood trauma response. It's not weakness — it's your nervous system's last resort protection.
u/jordan_hale5mo ago
The 'not weakness' part is what I keep forgetting in the moment.
u/amber_cole5mo ago
Going in circles is often the work, not proof that you're failing the work.