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fawn response

abuse - trauma survivor - trauma healing - healing trauma

Understanding & Healing Trauma Series

This Healing Trauma Series is for individuals who have experience long-term trauma through neglect, physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse and have become stuck in a chronic cycle of stress.

What do you do if your emotions are on overdrive? What do you do if you find yourself easily trigger by life events and your inner world spiraling out of control? Is there a way to recover and reestablish peace of mind? There is. It is by going inside healing trauma.

people pleaser

People Pleaser’s Guilt

Guilt can be a huge barrier in being assertive, especially for a people pleaser.  It makes us question our choices and wonder if our internal rules are somehow flawed.  We may feel responsible.  We may not want to disappoint someone. We may not want to hurt their feelings. 

biology of the stress response

Trauma & The Biology of the Stress Response

When our nervous system detects a threat or we are faced with a distressing situation, our bodies naturally and instinctively react by activating our stress response. These threats trigger the body to engage defensively where it sets off a series of rapid well-orchestrated physiological and hormonal changes. They spring into action and allow us to respond quickly in an effort to ensure our survival. All of this happens instantaneously and outside of our conscious control.

Fawn Response

Codependency, People Pleasing And The Fawn Response

By definition, fawning refers to the flattery or affection displayed to gain a favor or advantage. Fawning is the opposite of the fight response. Instead of aggressively attempting to get out of a dangerous situation, fawn types attempt to avoid or minimize confrontation. They do this through what is referred to as ‘people pleasing’, where they bend over backward trying to be nice. It is not done to be considerate to the other individual but as a means of protecting themselves from additional trauma.