Freeze-Flight-Fight-Forfeit
Fight or Flight · Fight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn · Stress Response
The fundamental response options when humans (and other animals) are exposed to stressful or threatening situations, often summarized by the simpler "fight or flight" phrase.
Origin
American physiologist Walter Cannon first described the "fight or flight" response in his 1915 book Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage, showing how the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline mobilize the body for emergency action. Later researchers expanded the model: "freeze" was added as neuroscience clarified the immobilization response, and trauma therapist Pete Walker popularized "fawn" (appeasement) in the 2000s, creating the four-F framework used in modern trauma psychology.
Everyday Use
Your boss calls an unexpected meeting and your stomach drops — that's the freeze response. Your instinct to rehearse excuses on the walk over is flight. Snapping back at a colleague is fight. Going quiet and agreeing with everything is forfeit. These ancient survival wiring patterns show up in the most modern of settings.