Why does our brain sometimes not initiate the fight or flee but make us unable to move when we experience intense fear?
In: Other
A lot of predators have a really strong “chase” instinct. You can see that with a house cat and a laser pointer.
Now, let’s say you’re out walking and you encounter a lion. If it’s hungry, you’re going to die no matter what, so we’ll assume it isn’t.
If you attack a lion, you’ll obviously die.
If you run from it, it will probably chase you (see the cat/laser example), and you’ll die.
If you stand still, it might very well ignore you. (Remember, it isn’t hungry.)
So, the only really good choice is to stand still. That’s why your body developed the “freeze” option, in addition to “fight” and “flee.” We usually only talk about the other two, because “freeze” doesn’t sound as cool.
In addition to freezing, your body will sometimes empty your bladder and/or bowels. This helps make you unappetizing to the predator, and also helps you to run faster if you need to switch to “flee.” (I know, TMI.)
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