Dissociation Or Tonic Immobility?

[Lucycat]

Had a classic example of TI today. Found a dead mouse in the living room. Rory picked it up and took it outside where it promptly ran away!

My T. said 'it did what it had to, to survive'

Unfortunately the cat brought it in a second time, when it was not quite so lucky!

 

[Muzikluvr]

Our German Shepherd pup got loose a few weekends ago when the chickens were out in the yard, and he got one of the hens in his mouth. The kids got him to drop her, and she laid on the ground dead... seemingly. Three kids crowded around watching this stunned chicken. I walked over and without fear, picked her up and cuddled her back to life. Poor thing!

It was so funny to hear the kids and the dad of one of them expressing some shock at how it all ended, from me picking up the chicken like a pet to it "coming back to life".

She's okay now. But, the Rooster is red hot mad at that puppy! :D

 

[anndeb]

I have periods when my mind will go blank, unable to function.. sometimes a result of anger I have found, which I am also terrified of. It simply was not allowed when I was growing up. My T has compared it with being 'blind' with rage as when people will lose it when they lose their tempers.

Her acceptance of it helps me accept it also and like a touch, will help bring me out of it. I tend to be very hard on myself when this happens too.

 

[Anna]

I found this article today which I found to be very interesting:-

http://www.lifecentre.uk.com/dealing_with_the_effects/the_freezing_response.html

 

[Lucycat]

Thanks for that Anna. That is nice and clearly written.

 

[ams]

I'm so glad someone said this. My F/F response was freezing. During each trauma, I froze. I spent years learning weapons training (accuracy and tactical for self defense) with LAPD as well as Marines/Army special forces (it helps having friends in high places, so I did one-on-one training in the middle of the desert) specifically so I could snap out of the freeze state when I get scared, and step into action to protect myself. When someone near me is in danger, I never freeze up. But when it's just me by myself in danger, I freeze. The training helped me "pull the trigger". It helped me step out of subjective-mode where emotions are highly predominant, and step into objective-mode where I can think clearly and make the best, safest, decisions and then process the emotions after I'm out of danger. You're basically creating new body memories, new muscle memory. You're making it 2nd nature to step into that action instead of being frozen. And it's physiology, it's not just in your head. It's your body controlling the cortisol and the stimuli. It's basically a manual shifting gears until you do it so much that you don't think about it, it just happens. It's absolutely something you can change. It's not easy though.

You can change the freeze response. Any therapist who says you can't, just doesn't know how... as that is exactly what military training accomplishes... they change the freeze response to fight or flight, depending on what is required under the situation, even though bullets or bombs are coming at you.

It is a behavioural therapy that you accomplish by repeating a behaviour over and over again, until the behaviour is so instinctual, it becomes the new "freeze" for you, which will be a cognitive process and assessment of your surroundings to either fight or flight.

A very simple explanation of this is through martial arts training. You get a person to say and even repeat the exact things said or done that make you freeze and go into tonic immobility, then with an instructor yelling in your ear, and with an already pre-planned response, you progressively will change from freeze to react. Martial arts specific training is excellent for victims to change a fear response from freeze to fight or flight.

This is the type of thing you can achieve in your home or backyard with two other people... first developing a course of action to take, one person there for nothing other than yelling at you to get you within the now to react, the other performing the event that creates the freeze response.

 

[rainbow1]

Freezing was my response as well, it still is when a memory hits me. Quite often I can't leave the therapy room even though I desperately want to, my whole body feels stuck.

I wish I could fight or flight.

 

[Anna]

Interesting discussion indeed :)

My reaction to sexual assault was to freeze.

My reaction to physical assault was fight.

One day my son nearly ran in front of a bus. My instinct was to grab and pull him out of the way. My mother froze in terror.

I think we are all different, and each scenario triggers a different response.

Maybe with sexual assault as well, this is due to a deep down survival instinct. I am very small and know very well if I tried to fight the person off they would kill me. I know for a fact I would not be here now if I had fought the person.

It is amazing how our reactions are.