What is the fawn response?

Hey YouTube!!

If you’ve been following me for a long time, or even just a little while, you’ll know that I talk about the fight, flight, and freeze survival strategies that we humans use to stay safe when we are in the midst of scary things that are happening to us. These three responses are a given. They are hardwired into us. There is a reason they belong to the autonomic (automatic) nervous system. But, there’s a fourth survival response that I don’t talk about as much, mainly because it’s not black and white, and it relies on a mixture of our survival strategies along with essential prosocial “adaptive” strategies to help us keep the peace, so to speak. In this week’s new vlog I talk about the fawn response, and break down some of the scenarios that might lead it to surface.

Interestingly, it is thought by my mentors, namely Kathy Kain, that another form of ‘fawning’ is taking on a family member’s or partner’s illness or medical condition as a way to “keep the peace,” so we are more like them, more equal. So while this might be an adaptive response by our unconscious that helps us feel more safe emotionally, it is clearly a maladaptive strategy in the long-term, and not healthy. One could argue that “joining the social pack” when it comes to media news cycles could be a modern collective form of fawning that is doing a massive disservice to us, globally.

I hope you take some time to watch this new vlog, and consider how you and your family systems have brought on this more advanced form of survival strategy as a way of coping in the short term and keeping the peace, but at the same time, how it is not a smart evolutionary move if we want to create more nervous system regulation, personal authenticity, and global harmony in the long run.

__

Thank you for being here!

1. Leave a comment and let me know how this video impacted you. Feel free to leave a question (my team answers them each week!)

2. To get more nervous system health resources, plus learn more about me and my credentials, plus the many ways you can work with me at the practical level, head to my website: https://irenelyon.com

3. Follow me on social here:

Instagram:   / irenelyon  
Facebook:   / lyonirene  
LinkedIn:   / irenelyon  
SoundCloud:   / irenelyon  

4. GOT QUESTIONS? Send an email to: [email protected]
__

Please know that…

The statements on this YouTube channel or in videos are simply opinion. Content presented or posted on this channel is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or a professional therapeutic relationship. Content presented or posted is intended to provide general health information for educational purposes only and you should contact the appropriate healthcare professional before relying on any such information.

My website is a wealth of free resources and information on how to start this work, so here it is one more time: https://irenelyon.com