I think it's safe to say that most people have heard about "Fight or Flight" as responses to stressful or threatening circumstances. We are confronted with a situation that beckons to make a choice: either fight back, run away, or freeze. There's only one thing: it's not really our choice. This choice is made for us automatically. Our body automatically gets put on alert when a stressful circumstance hits us, and then we are powerless.
Sometimes we fight back.
Sometimes we run away.
Other times we just stand (or sit or lie) there.
Regardless, it's not our fault if we run away or freeze when afterwards we say, "I should have fought back." Our bodies take over, and the response is automatic.
When we encounter a threatening or stressful circumstance in the context of PTSD, the response, I think, could become even more automatic, meaning that the body anticipates the response, especially if the circumstance is a potentially traumatic or triggering circumstance.
I have learned that if I say or do something that could in any way be triggering (even the way I walk), the FFF response begins way before things escalate.
If you live with someone that PSTD, please be careful about the FFF response and how it affects you. Learn your partners' triggers. Try to avoid them. The survivor needs to feel safe and in control at all times. << I cannot state that enough. Safety and in control are two things a survivor needs to feel all the time.
