Cycle Breaker and Change Maker | Introduction to the Freeze Response - the third "F" of the five "F"'s of Trauma Response

Cycle Breaker and Change Maker with Renata Ortega

Episode 27: Understanding the Freeze Response to Trauma

Hello and welcome back to the Cycle Breaker and Change Maker podcast. If you’ve been following along, you know that we are diving deep into the Five F’s of Trauma Response. In the last episodes, we explored the Fight and Flight responses—how they develop, how they show up in daily life, and what we can do to manage them. Today, we’re moving on to the third response: Freeze.

The freeze response is often the least understood of the trauma responses. While fight and flight involve action, freeze is about inaction. It’s a survival instinct that shuts the body and mind down in response to overwhelming stress. If you’ve ever felt paralyzed in a stressful situation, struggled to make decisions under pressure, or dissociated from your surroundings, you may be experiencing the freeze response.

Let’s break down what the freeze response really is, how it manifests in daily life, and most importantly, how we can work with it rather than feel stuck in it.

What is the Freeze Response?

The freeze response occurs when the brain perceives a threat and determines that neither fighting nor fleeing is possible. Instead, it chooses a third option: shutting down. This is an ancient survival mechanism that allows animals—and humans—to remain still and unnoticed when danger is near.

For trauma survivors, the freeze response can become deeply ingrained, causing them to feel stuck, unable to take action, and disconnected from their emotions or environment. It can create a sense of helplessness and even make people feel like they are watching their life from the outside.

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Until the next time - warmly yours,
Renata