Understanding the Five F’s of Trauma: How Your Nervous System Responds to Threat

Have you ever reacted to a situation and later wondered, “Why did I shut down?” or “Why couldn’t I speak up?” or even “Why did I say yes when I wanted to scream no?” These responses are not weaknesses or character flaws — they are survival responses deeply rooted in your nervous system.

In psychology, the “Five F’s” refer to the core trauma responses our bodies instinctively activate when we feel threatened or overwhelmed: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, and Flop. These are driven by the autonomic nervous system, which governs our unconscious responses to stress.

Let’s break down what this means and how you can begin to understand — and heal — your unique trauma patterns.

⸻

The Role of Your Nervous System

Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of your body’s operating system that runs automatically — like your heartbeat, digestion, and breathing. It has two main branches:

• Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): Think of this as the gas pedal. It activates your body’s stress response, also called “fight or flight.”

• Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): This is the brake. It helps your body rest, digest, and repair. It also houses the dorsal vagal branch, which governs freeze and flop responses when the body shuts down from overwhelm.

These systems work together in a dynamic balance. But when you experience trauma — especially chronic or developmental trauma — the system can become dysregulated, and your body may default to one or more of these trauma responses even in situations that aren’t life-threatening.

⸻

The Five F’s: Survival Strategies of the Nervous System

1. Fight

This response arises when your body senses it can overcome the threat. It looks like:

• Arguing or becoming aggressive

• Needing to feel in control

• Defending yourself intensely

• Feeling rage or frustration easily

This is a sympathetic response. Your body floods with adrenaline and prepares to take action.

2. Flight

When fighting doesn’t feel safe, the nervous system may choose to flee. Signs include:

• Avoidance or escapism (physically or emotionally)

• Overworking or staying busy

• Anxiety and racing thoughts

• Panic or an urgent need to “get away”

Also rooted in the sympathetic branch, this response channels energy into escape.

3. Freeze

When neither fighting nor fleeing is possible, the body may freeze — like a deer in headlights. Signs:

• Feeling stuck or unable to move

• Numbness or disconnection from the body

• Forgetfulness or brain fog

• Hyper-awareness without action

This is a parasympathetic response, particularly from the dorsal vagal system, shutting down energy to preserve life.

4. Fawn

Often learned in childhood, fawning is the act of appeasing or pleasing to prevent harm. This can look like:

• People-pleasing or codependency

• Difficulty saying no

• Prioritizing others’ needs over your own

• Chronic guilt or self-sacrifice

This response often lives alongside freeze and flight, as the body learns that pleasing is the safest option.

5. Flop

A lesser-known but deeply important response, flop is full collapse. The body gives in and “plays dead.” Signs:

• Dissociation or zoning out

• Loss of muscle tone or physical strength

• Feeling like you “left your body”

• Emotional numbness

Flop is an extreme parasympathetic reaction, where energy drops so low the body moves into shut-down mode.

⸻

Questions to Ask Yourself

These self-inquiries can help you bring compassionate awareness to your trauma responses:

• Which of the Five F’s do I most recognize in myself?

• When I feel overwhelmed, do I try to escape, control, collapse, appease, or freeze?

• What situations or people tend to trigger these responses?

• How does my body feel before, during, and after these states?

• Am I judging myself for how I respond — and what would it feel like to offer understanding instead?

⸻

How I Can Support You

As a Spiritual Energy Alchemist and Nervous System Intuitive™, I guide clients in identifying their dominant trauma responses and gently rewiring the nervous system for safety, clarity, and empowerment.

Through my energy alchemy sessions, we work to:

• Regulate the autonomic nervous system using energetic and somatic tools

• Clear the stuck imprints of fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop

• Reconnect you with your authentic core frequency and inner wisdom

• Build embodied safety so you can respond to life from presence, not protection

Whether you’re just discovering your trauma patterns or deep into your healing path, I offer intuitive guidance to help you harmonize your body, mind, and soul.

⸻

You are not broken — you are brilliant. Your body has been doing its best to protect you. And together, we can co-create a new way forward rooted in safety, sovereignty, and sacred power.

Ready to begin?

Visit www.angelalhomes.com to book your first session or explore my upcoming energetic nervous system activation.

With deep reverence for your healing,

Angela L. Holmes

Spiritual Energy Alchemist & Nervous System Intuitive™

The energy we are created from- pure consciousness and life force- is woven into the very fabric of our nervous system. It flows through every nerve, synapse, and cell, acting as both the messenger and memory, carrying the imprint of our soul's essence and our lived experiences. Our nervous system becomes the bridge between the energetic and physical realms, translating subtle vibrations into embodied awareness. -Angela L Holmes