9781422276075

Copingwith Sexual violence and Harassment

Here’s where we get into the nitty-gritty of human reaction to traumatic events. Like all animals, humans have certain pre-programed responses to interactions with predators. You’ve probably heard of the “fight-or-flight response” — that’s a part of the story, but really it’s just the beginning. The larger picture of our inborn reactions to severe threats is called the “defense cascade.” It comes in five basic stages: • arousal: your immediate response to a threat (sweating, tensed muscles, increased heartbeat, etc.) • fight or flight: an instinctive reaction to either defend oneself or try to escape • attentive immobility: also called freezing; all motion stops while you scan the environment • tonic immobility: when confronted with an inescapable threat, the body becomes paralyzed; you are physically unable to move or shout for help • quiescent immobility: immediately after the threat is gone, the

survivor remains unable to move right away; this phase

is thought to promote healing in the survivor There can be a lot of variation

in how long these phases last, but they are all involuntary responses. In other words, these reactions are instinctive, controlled by your central nervous system and parts of your brain, such as the amygdala and

Watch this video to learn more about tonic immobility.

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