The year 2022 forced many to switch into survival mode «fight, flight, freeze». For some, this manifested literally — fear for their own life, lack of safety.
For others, it manifested differently — when they forbade themselves to breathe deeply, to live and enjoy life. This is the «freeze» state, which paralyzes the entire body and puts life on pause.
Some took an attacking position and cannot exit this mode.
Learn about the danger of prolonged stay in such states, the purpose of survival mode, and how to exit it from this material.
Survival mode = lack of a resourceful state
Survival mode turns on when you are not in a resourceful state. And here the main rule is to return yourself to a resourceful state as quickly as possible.
Survival mode has a set of mechanisms, only three action options: fight, flight, freeze. Other functions are turned off.
The survival instinct is needed for direct survival if you are in a place where there is a real threat to life and safety, and part of our audience is in such places.
But the rest are in places where there is no real threat to survival. Yet many have this mode turned on.
As a result, the body lives in such conditions for a long time. There is no resource there.
But the main difficulties are not in the lack of resource, but in the fact that awareness is turned off. And you cannot adequately respond to circumstances, cannot make balanced decisions, and lack the ability to choose.
See also How to turn on awareness in a stressful situation. A 3-step algorithm
What is the function of survival mode
Scientists have long documented that in the “fight, flight, freeze” state, the body’s system functions in such a way that brain work and the thinking process are shut down, only reactions are activated.
Each person has a predominant reaction, depending on the situation: either freeze, fight, or flight.
All the body’s resources and biochemistry are reconfigured so that only the part responsible for executing the reaction—the action that helps survival—works.
At that moment, you are driven by pure instinct—run, and everything else that doesn’t provide strength in your legs is cut off. Or freeze—when you need to hide and wait out the danger, or fight—when you need to defend yourself to survive.
The reptile brain works in a similar way. When a lizard hatches from an egg, its task is to immediately run to some high ground, because snakes are watching the eggs. If it manages to run—it lives on; if not—that’s it. Only reactions work here.
This is a survival system programmed over millennia. What awareness can there be? The brain and mind are not working.
What is the danger of prolonged survival mode
Many people are currently in a survival state for a fairly long time.
But the “freeze, fight, flight” state in everyday life is exhausting, because such a reaction is intended for a short-term period. When you stay in it for a long time, the body wears out.
Therefore, look for ways to relax, to exhale, of course, if you are in a physically safe position.
Here are some ways to switch from stress to awareness.
What other ways do you know? What helps you switch?
Fragment of a broadcast from the #разговор_на_диване segment «Let’s Talk, 07.14.22»