What is a Trauma Response?
Culturally, we hear the word trauma being used in media, socially and more. For a lot of us, we associate trauma with major events like war, fires and car accidents. For others, trauma can fall under much less intense categories. So which group is right? Many psychotherapists define trauma by breaking it into two different categories “Big T” and “Little t”. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly Big T and Little t trauma is and additionally, how one can learn if one is experiencing a trauma response.
Big T Trauma
Big T trauma refers to the significant life events that are majorly distressing and life threatening. Just to name a few, examples of these traumas include:
Natural Disasters
War/Acts of Violence
Child Abuse
Rape/Sexual Assault
Car Accidents
Experiencing Severe Injury or Illness
Little t Trauma
Little t trauma are traumas that are not life threatening but still have the power to cause significant emotional distress. Some examples of Little T traumas are:
Infidelity and Interpersonal Betrayal
Emotional and Mental Abuse
Spiritual Abuse
Dysfunctional Family Dynamics
And more…
Trauma Responses
Whether or not one’s trauma is considered Big T or Little t, one can experience any one or even a combination of trauma responses. Commonly, when discussing trauma responses people typically think of the fight or flight response. Did you know that the latest research has found there to be five trauma responses? These are referred to as the 5 Fs.
Fight: This response often manifests as anger, aggression and being prone to defensiveness. When someone’s fight response is triggered, they become confrontational physically or verbally.
Flight: This response often looks like anxiety, avoidance behaviors, abandoning relationships prematurely and attempting to be excessively busy as a form of distraction.
Freeze: When someone experiences the freeze response, it can be either emotional or physical paralysis. They experience a crippling fear or anxiety and are unable to respond to situations appropriately.
Fawn: With the fawn response, one will do their best to avoid conflict by placating, people’s pleasing, perfectionist tendencies and becoming hypervigilant to anticipate someone else’s needs. Additionally, people who experience the fawn response are notoriously known for having difficulty establishing and maintaining boundaries.
Flop: The flop response is the least talked about response. It refers to when one’s nervous system crashes when they are triggered. People who experience this response are prone to numbness, overwhelm and procrastination due to lack of focus.
Summary
Does any of this resonate with you? The first step in breaking free from a trauma response is learning your triggers and how you respond to them. This work can be done with mindfulness, introspection and psychotherapy. My therapeutic approach to helping people manage a trauma response includes Internal Family Systems therapy and Emotion Focused Individual Therapy, this treatment can be adapted based off symptom presentation and intensity. If you or someone you know is interested in receiving trauma informed therapy, do not hesitate to reach out to a licensed therapist today.
Mira, L. A. (2023). Trauma Responses. 5F’s of Trauma: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, Flop. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://mentemira.com/5fs-of-trauma-fight-flight-freeze-fawn-flop/.