Fight, Flight, Freeze, & Fawn: Understanding Survival Responses

When someone experiences sexual violence, their body and brain respond instinctively to protect them. These responses—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—are automatic survival reactions. None of them are choices. They’re deeply rooted in our nervous systems and shaped by biology, past experiences, and trauma.

Understanding these responses helps survivors make sense of what happened and reminds us all that no reaction is ever wrong. Each response is valid, and every survivor deserves compassion—not judgment.

Fight: Protecting Through Resistance

The fight response is the body’s instinct to defend against danger. It may involve yelling, pushing, hitting, or trying to escape through confrontation.

What “Fight” Can Look Like

A survivor who experienced the fight response might remember physically resisting their attacker. Others may recall trying to grab a phone, scream, or escape.

Afterward, some survivors may feel guilt for not doing more, especially if their resistance didn’t stop the assault. However, it’s crucial to understand that survival WAS the success.

Steps Toward Healing

Survivors can benefit from trauma-informed therapy that focuses on processing anger, fear, and feelings of powerlessness. Modalities like EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and somatic experiencing can help survivors release trauma stored in the body and regain a sense of agency. (1)

Flight: Escaping to Survive

The flight response urges the body to flee. It’s driven by the instinct to escape a threat quickly and avoid harm.

What “Flight” Can Look Like

During an assault, this could look like running away, trying to hide, or mentally checking out. 

After the trauma, survivors might engage in constant busyness, avoid reminders of the event, or struggle with anxiety and restlessness. Some survivors cope by moving frequently, changing jobs often, or distancing themselves from others.

Steps Toward Healing

Healing from a flight response can involve creating safe spaces, grounding techniques, and mindfulness practices. Trauma-informed therapists may use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help address avoidance behaviors and anxiety responses while reinforcing a survivor’s sense of control. (2)

Freeze: Going Numb or Immobile

The freeze response causes the body to become immobilized. It’s a defense mechanism that kicks in when fighting or fleeing seem impossible or unsafe.

What “Freeze” Can Look Like

Many survivors describe feeling frozen or paralyzed during an assault. They may go still, dissociate, or experience a mental fog. 

After the event, this can manifest as depression, difficulty making decisions, or feeling stuck in their healing journey. Some survivors blame themselves for not “doing something”—but freezing is just as natural and involuntary as running or fighting.

Steps Toward Healing

Therapies that focus on reconnecting with the body—like somatic therapy or trauma-informed yoga—can be powerful tools. Survivors benefit from reassurance that freezing was a protective response, not a failure. Naming and normalizing this response helps reduce self-blame and shame. (3)

Fawn: Appeasing to Stay Safe

The fawn response involves appeasing or placating the threat to reduce harm. It’s often shaped by previous trauma, especially in survivors of child sexual abuse or those with complex PTSD.

What “Fawn” Can Look Like

During an assault, a survivor might try to placate the perpetrator—laughing, complying, or trying to “keep the peace.” 

Afterward, they might struggle with people-pleasing, boundary issues, or difficulty asserting themselves in relationships. Fawning can also lead survivors to stay in unsafe environments because appeasement has become a learned survival tool.

Steps Toward Healing

Healing from a fawn response involves learning to recognize one’s needs and build healthy boundaries. Supportive therapies, group support, and education about trauma bonding and codependency can empower survivors to reclaim their voices and trust their instincts. (4) (5)

Healing Starts Here

SOURCES

1. Complex Trauma Recovery Resources. “Fawning and Complex PTSD.” resources.complextrauma.org
2. National Sexual Violence Resource Center. “Trauma and the Brain.” nsvrc.org
3. American Psychological Association. “Understanding Trauma.” apa.org
4. van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin Books, 2014.
5. Trauma Research Foundation. “The Science of Trauma Responses.” traumaresearchfoundation.org