Managing the Freeze Response: Dissociation, Emotional Shutdown, and Creating Safety | Being Well

Being Well: Working with Dissociation, Avoidance, and Emotional Shutdown

This episode of the Being Well podcast, hosted by Forest Hansen with clinical psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson, explores the freeze response to stress—a survival strategy distinct from fight, flight, or fawn responses. The conversation bridges conceptual understanding with practical clinical and self-help applications, emphasizing that while freezing is often misunderstood as passivity, it is an active, adaptive response rooted in a perceived lack of self-efficacy.

The Four Families of Stress Responses

The episode opens by contextualizing the freeze response within the broader framework of how humans respond to threats. Forest outlines the four Fs: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn (appeasement). Each response is adaptive and based on an appraisal of one's capabilities relative to the threat.

• Fight occurs when we believe we can win or overpower the threat.
• Flight occurs when we believe we can escape.
• Fawn (appeasement) is a strategy of giving the other person what they want to diffuse danger, often seen in complex PTSD and childhood trauma contexts.
• Freeze occurs when we appraise ourselves as unable to fight, flee, or appease—a fundamental assessment of lacking self-efficacy.

A key reframe offered in the episode is that these responses are not inherently "bad." They are families of behaviors that exist on a continuum from maladaptive to adaptive. For example, a maladaptive fawn response might be self-abandonment, while an adaptive version could be being easygoing, adaptable, and prosocial. Similarly, healthy freezing can manifest as pausing to reflect, and healthy fighting can be appropriate assertiveness.

The Unique Challenges of the Freeze Response

The discussion highlights why the freeze response is particularly difficult to work with, both personally and clinically.

• Association with Trauma: Freezing is disproportionately linked to high levels of trauma, childhood abuse, and domestic violence—situations where fighting or fleeing were not viable options.
• Lack of Self-Efficacy: The response is built on a belief that one cannot influence their environment, which paradoxically undermines the very agency needed to change the behavior.
• Subtlety and "Going Offline": Unlike fighting or fleeing, freezing is an action of going offline. It can manifest as dissociation, emotional numbness, drowsiness, or a feeling of being "gone" while appearing present. This makes it hard for the individual to notice and for others to discern, leading to interpersonal friction when partners or colleagues push for a response the frozen person cannot give.

Clinical Approaches and Practical Interventions

Dr. Hanson outlines a three-step clinical framework for working with clients who freeze, which also translates into a DIY model for self-help.

1. Establish Safety and Efficacy: The first priority is keeping the person out of a full freeze response so they can stay present. This involves creating a sense of safety and highlighting their agency, even in small ways.
2. Join with the Defense: Rather than trying to rip the defense away, the therapist affirms its functional benefits. Understanding how the person learned to be so good at freezing is a crucial step.
3. Explore and Install New Ways of Being: This involves gradually expanding the "window of tolerance" by pendulating into stressful material and back out to safety. Practical suggestions include:
   • Physical Activity: Movement, dance, or martial arts to reclaim a sense of vitality and agency.
   • Graduated Stress Environments: Activities like rock climbing or Toastmasters provide a structured, supportive context to practice functioning under pressure.
   • Intervening Early: Developing self-awareness to catch the early signs of freezing (e.g., feeling fuzzy or sleepy) before the response fully takes over. This can involve taking a break, asking for space, or using small physical movements to "break the script."
   • Developing Specificity: Identifying the exact threat that triggers the freeze. Is it fear of the other person, fear of abandonment, or fear of one's own internal feelings (like rage or sorrow) surfacing?

The Self as a Source of Safety

The episode concludes with a profound discussion on the ultimate goal: developing the view of oneself as a source of safety. For those prone to freezing, safety has historically been derived from mentally checking out. The path forward involves building inner strengths that make one feel less threatened.

• Recognizing "I am safe right now" even when it doesn't feel that way.
• Cultivating agency in thought, word, and deed, even in small ways.
• Grounding in a sense of personal strength, including the capacity to endure discomfort and the ability to reach out for support from others.

Key Takeaway

The freeze response is a deeply ingrained, adaptive survival strategy rooted in a perceived lack of self-efficacy. Recovery is not about forcing a shift to a different stress response (like fighting), but about harm reduction—moving towards more adaptive versions of one's natural response. The core work involves building self-awareness to catch the freeze early, developing a sense of agency and vitality, and ultimately cultivating the internal belief that you yourself are a source of safety, capable of navigating threats with choice and resilience.