Fight, Flight, or Freeze

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  I have been told that I tend to use a defensive tone in the course of regular conversation.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 2.
  When someone hurts me, I retaliate.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 3.
  I fight back when I experience a real or perceived threat.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 4.
  When I am criticized, I react defensively.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 5.
  I think retaliation is often the best form of defense.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 6.
  People are always provoking me. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 7.
  I tend to overreact to situations.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 8.
  I tend to have angry outbursts.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 9.
  When I argue with others, it tends to be long and drawn out, sometimes lasting several hours or days.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 10.
  Others are afraid to approach me, unsure of how I might react.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 11.
  When I sense danger, I try to get away as fast as possible.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 12.
  When I see an unfriendly-looking stranger, I try to avoid them.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 13.
  I tend to storm out of the house during an argument.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 14.
  When I start feeling uncomfortable, I try to leave the situation as quickly as possible.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 15.
  I try my best to avoid confrontation. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 16.
  When a fire alarm goes off, I quickly evacuate.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 17.
  I quickly move away when I feel that others are invading my personal space.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 18.
  When people are fighting in my presence, I try to remove myself from the situation as quickly as possible.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 19.
  I rush away at the first sign of danger.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 20.
  I leave as soon as possible when I feel socially awkward.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 21.
  When I sense danger, I feel physically paralyzed or stuck.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 22.
  My mind feels blocked when I am being criticized. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 23.
  I lose my words around certain people. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 24.
  Even when I know what I want to say, sometimes the words won’t come out.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 25.
  I stay very still in my bed when I hear strange sounds at night.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 26.
  My body gets stiff when I feel scared. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 27.
  The mere presence of certain people or things paralyzes me. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 28.
  I don’t know how to respond when a stranger unexpectedly speaks to me.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 29.
  I feel frozen with fear when someone confronts me. 

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never
• 30.
  When I am scared, it’s as if my brain stops working.

  • A.
    Always
  • B.
    Often
  • C.
    Sometimes
  • D.
    Rarely
  • E.
    Never

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  Low

  A low score indicates this response is not very relevant for you, though you may go into it at times. We all face challenges in life that feel like more than we can handle in the moment, so it may be that your nervous system tends toward fight, flight, or freeze only occasionally and under extenuating circumstances. If you have higher scores on other responses, you will likely feel better faster by working on those first. If all of your scores are in the low range, that is a great sign you already have a lot of resilience built into your system.
• 2.
  Medium

  A medium score means your system likes this response, and that’s perfectly okay. Everybody is different, and therefore each individual will have their own “profile” of nervous system reactions. This one just happens to be part of yours. A medium score means you may only go into this response sometimes, while handling other situations more calmly. Or it may mean you go into this response often, but only at a mid-level strength. For instance, with fight you may feel the urge to kick or hit someone, but also remain aware enough to understand that it’s not a good idea to actually do it. You may freeze only sometimes, or “thaw out” and return to a baseline easier than others. What matters most is that you’re here taking care of yourself. As you gain awareness, you’ll also gain confidence and a wider range of choices when confronted with stressful or threatening scenarios in the future.
• 3.
  High

  A high score means this nervous system response occurs frequently. Perhaps you are already aware that you tend to get a bit aggressive, typically want to leave the scene of the crime when uncomfortable, or often find yourself feeling paralyzed. Or, this may be your first drop of awareness as to your particular patterns. There is no right or wrong here. Remember your nervous system is always trying to protect and keep you safe, even if your response may seem out of proportion to the situation at hand. Whatever your response is, it likely feels like an automatic reaction right now, with little choice in how you respond to what is happening around you. In time and with practice, you will cultivate a greater sense of space and eventually may find yourself reacting less intensely.
• 4.
  Very High

  A very high score means that this particular response is very common for you. This is neither good nor bad, it is simply the way your specific nervous system tends to respond when it senses you are under threat. Many individuals have a dominant response, the one they tend toward most, though others may score on the higher end for more than one response, especially if they have a history of developmental trauma. You may find yourself easily triggered and going into fight, tending to argue or throw something when you’re upset. If flight is very high, you may feel the urge to leave an uncomfortable situation ASAP or storm out during a confrontation. If freeze is very high, you may find yourself feeling, well, frozen and unable to act, think, or feel much of anything.