Understanding The Freeze Trauma Response
When we think of trauma responses, the fight-or-flight reaction often comes to mind. But there’s another, less talked-about response that’s just as important to understand: the freeze trauma response.
If you’ve ever felt paralyzed in the face of stress, unable to move or speak, or like your body has “shut down,” you may have experienced this powerful survival mechanism. The trauma freeze response is the body’s way of protecting itself when neither fighting nor fleeing feels possible or safe.
What Is the Freeze Trauma Response?
The freeze trauma response is a state where the body and nervous system go into a kind of “hibernation.” Instead of mobilizing energy to act, the body slows down. Heart rate may decrease, muscles may become immobile, and you may feel emotionally numb or disconnected. This state is governed by the parasympathetic nervous system and can emerge in situations of extreme stress or danger—especially those involving helplessness or overwhelm.
In childhood, for example, if a child experiences abuse or neglect and cannot escape or fight back, the nervous system may choose the freeze response as the safest option. Over time, this pattern can become ingrained, showing up in adult life in subtle but impactful ways.
The nervous system has a natural threshold—often called a window of tolerance—for how much stress, sensation, or emotion it can safely process in a given moment. When a traumatic event or overwhelming experience exceeds this threshold, and neither fighting nor fleeing is possible, the system may default to freeze. This is not a conscious choice—it’s a deeply ingrained survival mechanism designed to preserve life.
However, when the body enters freeze, the overwhelming emotions, sensations, and impulses—such as rage, terror, or the urge to run—don’t just disappear. Instead, they become trapped beneath the freeze. The energy of the incomplete survival response gets pushed down into the body. Over time, this can manifest as chronic tension, numbness, shutdown, disconnection, or a feeling of being stuck in life. Healing involves gently thawing the freeze response while allowing those suppressed layers to safely emerge, express and integrate.
It is also important to note that oftentimes it isn’t just rage, fear, the impulse to fight or need to flee that get trapped in freeze. Sometimes it can be beautiful parts of us too. Like our joy, or childlike curiosity, or innocence, or wisdom. During these intense moments we can fragment and in doing so our light gets trapped along with the pain. This is how and why people can feel like they ‘lost part of themselves’ or ‘feel different or disconnected’. Because beautiful unique parts of them are no longer accessible because they are trapped in the freeze.
Freeze Trauma Response Symptoms
In adulthood, the freeze trauma response in adults can look and feel very different from person to person. Here are some common freeze trauma response symptoms:
Feeling stuck, numb, or dissociated
Struggling to make decisions or take action
Chronic fatigue or low energy
Difficulty speaking or finding words in high-stress situations
A sense of emotional flatness or disconnection
A tendency to shut down during conflict or perceived threat
These responses are not signs of weakness. They are evidence of a highly intelligent nervous system that learned how to protect you.
Freeze Trauma Response Examples
Understanding real-life freeze trauma response examples can be helpful:
You’re in a heated argument, but instead of responding, you go quiet and may have a hard time finding words, unable to express yourself or even think clearly.
You tell yourself you need to do social media for your business. Every time you sit down to work on it you either get tired and sleepy or you can’t seem to focus and make progress so you tell yourself you’ll try again later. Making forward progress is challenging and you feel stuck or paralyzed.
You’re in a triggering environment (like a medical setting or intimate situation), and you suddenly feel dissociated, numb, or disconnected from your body.
These aren’t simply “bad habits” or personality traits—they’re survival responses rooted in past experiences.
How to Work with the Freeze Response
Unwinding the freeze response isn’t about forcing yourself into action. It’s about gently reawakening safety and connection in the body. Through somatic healing approaches—like Somatic Experiencing, breathwork, body-based practices, and trauma-informed movement—we can begin to create new patterns in the nervous system.
In my work with clients, I often hear how frustrating it feels to “know what to do” logically but feel paralyzed when it’s time to act. That’s the freeze response at play. Healing starts when we bring compassion, curiosity, and support to the parts of ourselves that are stuck in the unpleasant reoccurring states.
If you resonate with this and want to explore how to work with your freeze response in a safe, supported way, I invite you to learn more about my work and how to melt the freeze state with somatic experiencing trauma resolution.
The Healing Path Forward
The freeze trauma response is not permanent. It’s a survival strategy, not your identity. By bringing awareness to how it shows up in your life, and by learning how to reconnect with your body and build a sense of internal safety, healing becomes possible.
You don’t have to navigate this alone. Somatic healing offers powerful tools to gently thaw the freeze and help you feel more alive, grounded, and emotionally free.
Ready to take the next step? explore my trauma-informed offerings here. Let’s walk this healing path together.
Brianna Anderson, SEP
I’m here to help you heal so you can begin to live the life of your dreams
My private practice specializes in helping people who have endured trauma, resolve the symptoms out of their body, mind & spirit so they can feel comfortable in their skin, find inner peace and live the desires of their heart.
I am based out of South Orange County, Ca and offer online therapy sessions. Whether you are just starting your healing journey or ready to try something new, I am here to help.
is trauma holding you back?
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