Have you ever been too stunned to speak? What will you do if you find out one day that your significant other is upset with you? Are you going to talk to her/him about it, or are you going to do nothing and let her express her emotions to you? Or if you’re in an unfamiliar situation, what do you do? Do you freeze and let yourself be sunk by this situation, or do you explore the unfamiliar to become familiar? If you find yourself answering most of these questions by not doing anything at all, most likely your fear response is “freeze”, and you’re probably wondering if you should be worried if you instantly freeze when in danger.
But if you really want to know what your fear response is, take this fear response quiz we made, and by the end, we’ll be able to tell if you have a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn fear response.
What really is Freeze fear response?
Freeze is your fear response when you try to be very still and quiet until the danger passes. Do you remember when you were a kid and you were suddenly called out during a recitation and, despite knowing the lesson, your mind just went blank and you found yourself quiet and unable to respond? That’s a freeze response moment.
Should I be concerned because my fear response is to freeze?
Generally speaking, you don’t actually need to be “worried”, but you just have to become more aware of your habits with the fear response “freeze”. The reason behind this is that we will never know if, in times of real danger, a life or death situation, you might find yourself frozen and not doing anything at all. And by being aware of your habits of responding by freezing, you’ll be able to manage how you’ll be able to control and respond to danger.
Here are a few red flags of the freeze fear response that you need to be aware of:
- Dissociation: You feel disconnected from your own thoughts, feelings, memories, and surroundings.
- Depersonalization: The state of feeling disconnected and detached from one’s own thoughts and bodies. You oftentimes observe things outside of your body, as if you’re in a dream.
- Derealization: You feel detached from your surroundings as if everything is unreal.
- Disconnection: The sensation of being isolated and detached.
These are just a few signs of freeze fear response that you need to look into yourself. This is not to say that if you do not see these signs for yourself, you do not have a chance to freeze. Remember that it is always better if you try to know and understand yourself first because every person has their own way of responding to dangers and fears. You can start by taking this fear response quiz we made. Again, you don’t need to worry and panic immediately if you respond to your fears by freezing. All you need to do is to be aware first and then manage.
If you think you have a different fear response, you can try reading these articles:
How Does “Fight” Fear Response Manifest In Us?
5 Hidden Signs You Might Now Know About the “Flight” Response
Fawning: The Not-Well-Known Fourth Fear Response
4 Fear Responses: “Fight”, “Flight”, “Freeze”, and “Fawn” in Movies
Shirley Therapeutic and Consulting Services, LLC is a diverse therapy clinic that can meet the needs of anyone. If you’d like to talk about your mental health, feel free to message us here.
