FIGHT, FLIGHT OR FREEZE
When people encounter immediate danger, the body can enter an automatic survival state, said clinical psychologist Dr Annabelle Chow.
“When there’s immediate danger, our body kicks into a survivalistic, automatic, and default state,” she said. “So that means it goes into fight, flight, or freeze.”
“In a state of panic, for example, when there’s blood, there’s noise, there’s screaming, there’s a weapon … our brain has so many decision points that we have to make, and fear has a real, real effect on our body as well,” said Dr Chow.
Some people may freeze or feel unable to move, while others may flee or even move towards the danger, she added, pointing out that it is difficult for people to “reliably hypothesise” how they would react in an emergency.
How someone responds can depend on the circumstance – including how dangerous it is, whether weapons are involved, and whether that person has the skills to help, said Dr Chow.
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