Eli5, during our flight or fight response how come sometimes just our brain takes flight and we just freeze?

Question

I understand if danger is not imminent, like you see a bear walking around. But why do we sometimes freeze when we know danger is completely imminent? Like when the beast is charging at us.

In: 5

Answer 1

Freezing is neither flight or fight, it’s like an inability to choose between fight or flight. you can’t run, you can’t fight, all you can do is sit there and accept what’s happening in real time. It doesn’t happen to everyone but it is a 3rd option altogether, and it’s because sometimes stress is so overwhelming we just don’t know how to react to it, so we don’t.