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Trauma · Core

Fight Flight Freeze Fawn Worksheet

All four responses mapped to one nervous system

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Map all four survival responses onto the client's own life: which one is the default, what each feels like from inside, what other people see, and the specific tool that brings the system back into the window.

Response
How often (0-10)
What it feels like inside
What others see
What helps
Reflection
My default response, and the situations that trigger it
The response I almost never use — and what it would take to access it
The earliest body signal that any of them is starting

Fawn is often missed

Fawn frequently reads as agreeableness, maturity or being 'easy to work with', so it goes unnamed for years — including in therapy. If a client cannot find fight, flight or freeze in a situation where they clearly felt unsafe, check for appeasement.

References & further reading

Conceptual background and further reading, not validation of this handout. Named instruments and methods belong to their original authors; custom prompts and trackers are not validated versions of those instruments.

  • Walker, P. (2013). Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving. Azure Coyote.
© 2026 TherapistAssist · For clinical use · Not a substitute for assessment
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