Understanding the Freeze Response and Dorsal Vagal Shutdown
by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghNovember 22, 2024 collapse, deb dana, disassociate, disassociation, dorsal vagal shutdown, freeze, freeze response, functional freeze, nervous system, nervous system regulation, peter levine, polyvagal ladder, polyvagal theory, shutdown, somatic therapy, Stephen Porges, stress responses, sympathetic nervous system, trauma responses0 comments
Understanding the Freeze Response and Dorsal Vagal Shutdown
Have you ever felt frozen in the face of stress—unable to act or make a decision? This experience, often described as “freezing,” is a common yet misunderstood survival response. While many people refer to all forms of immobility as “freeze,” there are important distinctions within...Learn MoreThe Fight Response on the Road AKA Road Rage
by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 24, 2023 fight flight freeze, fight response, flight or fight, freeze response, nervous system, nervous system regulation, road rage, stress responses, sympathetic nervous system0 comments
Welcome back to our stress responses series; what they are and how they manifest in different contexts. So far, we’ve explored the different stages of the freeze response: Freeze in a survival scenario and Freeze during social threats, and in our last blog, you survived the ultimate cage fight with Michael Myers (you’ll have to go back and read that one if you are wondering how you...Learn MoreFight or Flight? An Exploration of the Fight Response in a Horror Film
by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 19, 2023 fight flight freeze, flight or fight, freeze response, nervous system, nervous system regulation, stress responses, sympathetic nervous system0 comments
Welcome back to this series on the stress responses. Our hope is to untangle the web of confusion that has been spun surrounding these responses, and to demystify this innate human ability that we all possess and experience regularly. Our last two articles explored the freeze response—you learned how to recognize the differing stages of the freeze response in both Big T (catastrophic...Learn MoreUnderstanding the Freeze Response During Social “Threats”
by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 12, 2023 fight flight freeze, flight or fight, freeze response, nervous system, nervous system regulation, Parasympathetic nervous system, stress, stress responses, sympathetic nervous system0 comments
In our last blog, Stress Responses: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Why I am so Confused!?, you survived a vicious bear attack and learned how the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in when other responses fail. We explored different stages of the freeze response, and how to recognize them. You also learned some pretty cool new words, like neuroception and ventral vagal,...Learn More