Identify Your Primal Brain Reaction

As a therapist and a therapy client, I found that the conversations were almost always somehow about the negative impact of childhood. Whatever stressors in life, the source of the confusion, the pain, the angst, the questions….could all go back to the parents.

THIS IS NOT BLAME. THIS IS IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF WHERE YOU LEARN HOW TO HANDLE THE STRESS OF LIFE.

We are all primal beings with our primal brain turned ON all the time in order to keep us alive. If there is an unhealthy family dynamic growing up, the primal brain “learns” to react instinctually by fight, flight or freeze.

ONCE WE GROW UP, THIS REACTION — FIGHT, FLIGHT OR FREEZE — IS DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN OUR BRAINS SO THAT WHENEVER WE EXPERIENCE STRESS, AKA A THREAT TO OUR SURVIVAL, WE DO WHAT WE LEARNED TO DO.

We fight. We flight. We freeze.

What type of primal brain reaction do you have? First, reflect on a recent experience you had where YOU GOT UPSET.

Where did you first experience that you were UPSET?

What was the first action you wanted to take?

1.. Did you want to say something?

2. Did you want to leave?

3. Did you find yourself confused about what to say or what to do?

Answer 1: you are a fighter

You want to say what’s on your mind. You want to help, you want to teach, you want to let people know the truth. The more strongly you feel the need to help/teach/speak the truth, the more energy there can be inside you. This energy can come out as speaking strongly which is considered to being angry. The fighter is

Answer 2: you are a flighter

Something happens and you feel uncomfortable and you want to GET OUT. You look for the closest exit, door, way to get away from what’s happening. You can have the urge to run or maybe even find yourself running without thinking. The flighter is often an extremely sensitive and intelligent person able to know to get out of the way.

Answer 3: you are a freezer

Confusion takes over and floods the system with I DON’T KNOW…I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH…and IF I DO SOMETHING, IT WILL BE BAD. The freezer is often an extremely sensitive person who is introverted.

Want to learn more about your primal brain reactions connect here.