What is Fight, Flight and Freeze?

by NATALIE RINEHART
11th March 2026

Mental Health

BACK IN THE days of living in caves, having an inbuilt alarm and action system based on danger makes great sense, doesn’t it?
And we humans have one built in.
So, if we are being chased by something dangerous, for instance, a tiger, our body would activate to either be able to fight the threat or run away fast (flight).
Unfortunately, these days that system gets activated for less dangerous events like sitting an exam or doing a public presentation, and it’s extremely hard to deal with.
Going into fight, flight, or even freeze, all starts in the amygdala, which is deep within the brain.
If we think about how our brains developed over our evolution, it is in the ancient part of the brain from early humans, and not all that logical processing that we have developed over time with our frontal cortex.
Once that button is pushed, a myriad of activities happen within the body, thoughts, and emotions.
The amygdala tells the hypothalamus to get the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol.
That is the cue to the rest of the body that we need to move up to top gear and get moving.

Fight or flight

If we are looking to “fight” or “flight” we need our muscles at peak performance.
In response, our heart rate rises, and we start breathing heavily to move oxygenated blood to our muscles fast.
Blood moves away from our digestive system to get into the muscles, and that is often why we feel a bit nauseous, experience butterflies, or dry mouth.
It’s like the digestive system is saying, “Hey — what’s the deal here?”
All of this is a lot like hardcore exercise, so people can start feeling hot and sweaty.
Some people may even feel dizzy, as if they are exercising too hard.
Some get tunnel vision.
Even the muscle associated with our bladder releases a little to hold more urine.
I mean, there is no time for a pee break if you are being chased by a tiger, right?
Our thoughts become very narrow, and we struggle to think of anything outside of the event.
Our decision-making can be fast but not always logical — it’s more instinctual.
People often question why they behaved the way they did afterwards.
Emotionally, we tend to either respond in an anger-based way — mild frustration, anger, through to rage; or in the fear-based way — worry, anxiety, and fear, through to panic.

What happens with freeze then?

Freeze generally happens if fight or flight won’t work.
If you can’t fight something and you can’t run away from it, then your body and brain just stop.
It’s almost like an immobilisation device on your car.
The best way I ever heard it explained is it’s like being in a plane that is going to crash.
You can’t fight the crash, you can’t run away from it, you just sort of freeze in the moment.
Where fight and flight are all about activating, this is the opposite, but not in a calm way.

So how does all this impact us today?

For people with high levels of anxiety and stress, it’s frequent, and can be multiple times a day.
The problem with being in regular fight, flight or freeze is it’s hard on our bodies and minds.
Little blips here and there are normal, but when people are activated for too long, it affects their sleep, eating, and digestion patterns, headaches, and the production of the happy neurotransmitters we need in our brains for emotional regulation, and we can eventually burn out.
So how do we deal with it?
First is to identify that is what your body is doing and know it’s a protective thing.
We need to get our bodies to deactivate, and techniques like deep breathing (I teach all my clients a circular-breathing method coupled with specific hand movements) and mindfulness help you feel more grounded and aware.
Physical activity can also be good — go for a big run or shoot hoops.
Social or physical connection with others can help like a big hug.
Once we are out of fight, flight, or freeze mode, our parasympathetic nervous system releases some “chill out” chemicals that can make some people feel a little tipsy and tired.
Ultimately, what we want is the ability to re-engage the logical thinking in our frontal cortex.
Asking someone to have great logic when they are in that state is too much.
Help them deactivate first, then you can have a more logical discussion.
It’s like asking a car to drive forward when the gears are stuck in reverse; it just can’t do it.
Experiencing fight, flight or freeze at times is evolutionarily programmed into us.
However, if you or your loved ones are in that state a lot of the time, whether it’s trauma-based, anxiety, or other causes, you do need to act.
Otherwise, the nervous system becomes so wired for it that it’s hard to deactivate, which is what happens for people with PTSD and other ongoing mental health conditions.
Until next time, folks!

Natalie Rinehart is a Young Person & Family Counsellor/Life Coach, Author.
Visit youthlifecoach.com.au, email youthlifecoach@healthpriorities.com.au or phone 0425 735 106.
Advice in this column is of a general nature.