Trauma responses are partially instinctual, partially learned behaviors that people do involuntarily in stressful or abusive situations. A trauma response may not be entirely in response to the current situation. If what's happening now reminds a person of past trauma, even subconsciously, they may react as if the past trauma is happening now.
This post is all about the fight, flight, freeze, and fawn trauma responses, especially for trans and nonbinary folks.
In this post, I'll be discussing the responses our bodies have to trauma and refer to abuse generally as well as some specifics of misgendering. I won't go into specific details about abusive situations and won't share any scenes.
Trans and nonbinary people may experience trauma from abuse. They may also have trauma from repeated, even unintentional, misgendering and messages that the way they are doesn't fit into society. Attempting to force yourself to be someone you're not, day after day, is a traumatic experience and may have long-term effects even if you unmask and come out later.
What are four types of trauma responses?
