Stress Discovery Channel: Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn?

Topic
- Society
- Identity & emotions
Learning skills
- Self-awareness
- Empathy & social awareness
- Critical & reflective thinking
- Communication & expression
Activity type
- Group discussion
Materials
- Printable downloads
Age
- 12 - 14 years
- 15 - 17 years
- 18+ years
>15 minutes
2 - 4 players
Intermediate
Calm
Small (office, pavement)

Contributors

Mobile School

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Everything you need to play this game

Animals poster Download signs-and-symptoms-of-trauma-finaal.jpg (1.5mb)

A step-by-step guide to play the game

Gather a group of players around the Animals poster.

Start the discussion by explaining the info board with the four responses depicted in the middle of the poster (Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn). Explain to the players that when something really scary happens, usually unexpected, we may feel frightened, angry, sad, confused, etc. and we usually have four ways of reacting to such events. We either fight, flight, freeze or fawn (see additional game information).

Ask the players what they see on the info board and give examples for each response to a specific situation. For example, let’s say that a bear attacks you! What do you do?

You fight the bear (fight).
You run away (flight).
You play dead (freeze).
You keep the bear happy (fawn).

Now, tell the players to check the animals on the poster and observe their behaviour carefully. You can start a discussion based on the players’ experiences, their thoughts and feelings regarding “a scary event” (trauma). Some suggested questions are:

What do you usually do when something scary happens?
Do you act like some of the animals on the poster? Which one?
When you act like this animal, how do you feel afterwards?
Have you seen other people (children or adults) act like some of these animals?
Are there any animals’ behaviours that may hurt you or others?

Then, you ask the players to see how each behaviour can be matched with the four responses we talked about in the beginning.

How do you categorize each reaction of the animals?
Let’s find behaviours that you think can match the fight response.
Let’s find behaviours that you think can match the flight response.
Let’s find behaviours that you think can match the freeze response.
- Let’s find behaviours that you think can match the fawn response.

It is okay not to match all the animals/behaviours within the categories. Let the players talk and debate if they have a different opinion. Conclude, though, to the correct category, with your guidance.

Conclude from the discussion you had together that it is nice and important to understand our feelings, our behaviour and the reasons behind them, because that way we know and understand ourselves better.

Extra game information

We suggest playing this activity after the introductory game with the poster: Animal Concept. This way the players will be familiar with the poster.

The fight, flight, freeze or fawn responses are ways our bodies react to stress or danger:

Fight: You respond to danger by standing up and confronting it. You might feel angry or aggressive and ready to defend yourself.
Flight: You respond to danger by running away or trying to escape. You feel like you need to get away from the threat as quickly as possible.
Freeze: You respond to danger by becoming still and silent. You might feel paralyzed and unable to move or speak, hoping the threat will go away if you don’t draw attention to yourself.
Fawn: You respond to danger by trying to please or appease the threat. You might try to be extra nice or helpful to avoid conflict and make the danger go away by making the threat happy.

The centre of the poster depicts different animals with different stress reactions. The animals depicted and their stress responses are:

Fight (chipmunk, eagle, lions, kangaroos, chimpanzee, chickens)
Flight (turtle, hedgehog, sloth, cheetah)
Freeze (bear, ducks, gorilla, rhino, flamingo)
Fawn (dog, camels, peacocks, deer, otters, donkey)
Other (bison, wolf, snake, polar bear, pigeon, shark, meerkat, giraffe, bunny, toucans, owl, cat, black panther, koala, llama, panda, red panda, lemur, ostrich, penguin, horse, argali, elephant, fox, skunk, cuttlefish)
No stress reaction (bat, red crab, ladybug, mouse, killer whale, seal, eagle ray, chameleon, red frog, purple frog, purple hermit crab, parrot, scarlet ibis, crocodile, sea star)

This game is part of the Trauma-Informed Youth Work toolkit, which is designed to create a safe, supportive environment for all participants by acknowledging the impact of trauma on young people and fostering trust and empowerment. By incorporating activities that use indirect methods to explore emotions and behaviours, the toolkit makes sensitive topics more accessible and less intimidating, especially for younger audiences. The teamwork aspects of these activities foster collaboration and support, aligning with trauma-informed principles. This approach promotes healing, resilience, and positive development in every youth engaged, while emphasizing emotional awareness and understanding.

Variations

To start a discussion on understanding and dealing with different ways of responding to challenging situations, have the players think about what kind of animal they would like to turn into in different situations. The scenarios should be based on the children's reality. Some examples:

You are home alone for a while.
You are not prepared for tomorrow's test or lesson.
You have to go to the doctor.
They scold you about something you did.
They accuse you of something you didn't do.
Someone steals your idea.
You get left out of the game.
Someone is going to hurt your best friend.

Specific learning objectives

Learn about (categories of) stress reactions (fight, flight, freeze or fawn).
Enhance understanding of signs and symptoms of trauma through animal metaphors.

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