The Lesser-Known Behaviors Due To Your Trauma (Freeze)

do you ever sometimes wish to connect with others but feel too afraid maybe you fear looking silly and being judged makes you freeze up unsure of what to say or do you might find yourself awkwardly smiling or stuttering which feeds into your negative thoughts you feel even more anxious and ashamed of being perceived as socially awkward in many of us these behaviors could possibly signify something deeper a rooted trauma response called freezing could your socially awkward Behavior actually mean that a part of you is still trapped in a past event let's explore this idea further wiring When We're Young we're vulnerable and easily scared if we encounter a situation that overwhelms us like being yelled at or threatened by an adult our brain goes into survival mode Evolution wired our brains when faced with danger to either fight our opponent or run but what if our opponent is too strong to fight what if they're too fast and catch us running when we're stuck between these two options the only way to survive is to freeze a 2017 study suggests that this response may function as a time for the brain to decide how to respond to the threat so how does this manifest in your day-to-day life well that brings us to the next point the lookout later on the vulnerable child has grown up and the scary adult is gone but the fear of danger is still here and you may become hypervigilant in social situations instead of enjoying the conversation you're on the lookout carefully paying attention to their exact words their gaze their tone of voice on the outside you may look tense and uninterested but as clinical psychologist Dr Nathan green wrote for Healthline this could actually be a freeze response which gives your brain time to scan the environment for signs of danger close your eyes when you freeze it can be difficult and intimidating to make eye contact with the person you're talking to you might feel like they're looking right through you seeing all your flaws and weaknesses so you look away down at the ground or off to the side this can be your body's way to reduce the perceived threat of social interaction a 2014 study showed that in those with PTSD direct gaze activates the innate alert system so by avoiding eye contact you may disengage from the social situation and feel less vulnerable in return trapped words a 2004 study shows that stuttering may be a freeze response too it seems that those who stutter in nervous social situations show A reduced heart rate just like what happens during a freeze response it can happen when you need to voice your opinion confront somebody or simply pick up a telephone phone the fear of being judged or attacked may be so great and immobilizing it makes you stumble over your sentences or feel unable to even utter a word being invisible finally freezing up can make you socially withdraw to which Others May interpret as being disinterested or overly shy but as licensed psychotherapist Pete Walker wrote the freeze response often triggers the individual into hiding isolating and Es sking human contact as much as possible this Retreat mode as he calls it might offer you some comfort because you know if you're not hanging out no one can hurt you in any way so do you see some of these signs in yourself share your story in the comments if you're comfortable if you'd like to learn what you can do to get out of a freeze response check out the link in the description box we know it must be difficult to go through this but we hope this video ensured you that you're never alone thanks for watching and take care