5 Responses To Conflict

The five responses to conflict are instinctual reactions that we exhibit in stressful or threatening situations.

Here’s a detailed look at each response:

1. Fight:
   • Description: Engaging aggressively to confront or eliminate the threat.
   • Behavior: This response involves physical or verbal confrontation, where the individual uses force or assertiveness to deal with the conflict.
   • Examples: Arguing back in a heated discussion, physically defending oneself, or taking proactive measures to counteract the threat.
2. Flight:
   • Description: Fleeing or avoiding the threat to ensure safety.
   • Behavior: This involves escaping the situation or distancing oneself from the source of conflict.
   • Examples: Leaving the room during an argument, avoiding a bully, or choosing not to engage in a potentially dangerous situation.​

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1. Freeze:
   • Description: Becoming immobile or silent in response to the threat.
   • Behavior: This response is characterized by a lack of movement or action, where the individual may feel paralyzed or unable to respond.
   • Examples: Being unable to speak or move during a traumatic event, feeling stuck and unable to make a decision, or mentally shutting down in a stressful situation.
2. Posture:
   • Description: Displaying behaviors or signals to intimidate or bluff the threat without engaging in actual combat.
   • Behavior: This involves using body language, facial expressions, or other signals to appear more threatening or confident than one feels.
   • Examples: Puffing up one's chest, raising one's voice, making direct eye contact, or using threatening gestures to deter the threat.
3. Submit:
   • Description: Yielding or giving in to the threat to avoid further conflict or harm.
   • Behavior: This response includes behaviors that signal surrender or compliance to the threat.
   • Examples: Apologizing to appease an aggressor, following the demands of a stronger individual, or showing submissive body language like lowering the head or avoiding eye contact.

Each response serves as a survival mechanism, and the chosen response can depend on various factors, including the individual's personality, the specific situation, past experiences, and perceived chances of success or survival. Self defense training must encompass all of them...