Blog — relationships

Four Fs of Stress and Trauma: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn Explained 0

Have you ever found yourself reacting to stress in ways that seem out of your control? Those automatic responses can get you in trouble! They can mess with your relationships, work life, and personal well-being.

You are probably aware of the fight-or-flight emergency stress response concept but may not know that 2-only list of instinctual reactions has been expanded as more research into stress has been performed.

As the list has grown, the F alliteration has remained. The expanded list includes Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn. (Some have added others like Faint or Flop, and Friend. I'll explain why I don't typically include these when talking about the stress response.)

I added freeze to my stress response explanations to clients many years ago, but I resisted the idea of growing the list beyond three until I investigated fawn recently for a writing project and got excited about how well it explained some of what I have witnessed in client stories.  

Recognizing the Four Fs stress response can empower you to better manage stress and make healthier choices in challenging situations.

By delving into each component of this primal response, you can gain valuable insights into your emotions and behaviors when faced with stressors. It can also help you understand how other people around you feel and act when they're stressed out.

Let's explore the Fight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn stress response and its implications on your daily life.

Is The Way You are Listening Damaging Your Relationship? 0

Listening in a way that works is a skill that most people don't have. Most people use what I call "Not Listening Skills" when their job in the moment is to be a listener. These communication missteps create misunderstandings and messy buildup in couples: accumulated hurt feelings and resentments. They also contribute to people talking at each other rather than hearing each other and considering what they have to say.

People using any of the 10 Not Listening Skills often think they are doing a great job as a listener and don't see or understand that it's damaging their relationship. They may be listening to their partner, but their partner doesn't feel heard, and they don't really get what their partner has going on.

Ann Silvers' Books on Amazon 0

I now have 16 books on Amazon. Topics include anxiety help, what works and doesn't work in relationships, and emotional intelligence skills.

This post includes links for each of my books on Amazon.

Characteristics and Traits of a Narcissist 0

Narcissists see themselves as high achieving, independent of whether or not they are high achieving. From their perspective, they are the most important person in the room. They are arrogant and angered by anyone that they perceive to not be catering to their spoken or unspoken “needs.” 

Click Read More to learn

• Narcissist Definition
• Narcissist Symptoms and Characteristics
• Narcissism, Malignant Narcissism, and Sociopathy
• Narcissistic Wives, Girlfriends, Husbands, and Wives