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Not Every Emotional Reaction Is a Trauma Response

5 myths and truths on the fight-flight-freeze response.


As a phenomenon, trauma involves a collection of experiences and reactions rooted in our fundamental need to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity. This includes responses mainly from the neuro-biological system, but also from psychological and social domains that work together to help us be protected, process the impact of those events, and adapt to life and its challenges.

Focusing on the traumatic event when thinking about trauma may make us forget that the response to the event is more important in the development of symptoms and possible dysfunction than the event itself. Trauma is bigger than the sum of its elements (meaning both the traumatic event and its lasting consequences) and becomes a significant problem when our reaction to a threat goes into crisis mode and fails to return to baseline afterward.



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