Answer 10 honest questions to discover your dominant trauma response — the survival strategy your nervous system learned to protect you.
When your brain perceives danger — real or perceived — it activates one of four survival responses. These are not conscious choices. They are automatic nervous system reactions that developed to keep you safe, often rooted in early life experiences where they were genuinely necessary.
Psychotherapist Pete Walker expanded the traditional fight-or-flight model to include freeze and fawn, recognising that many trauma survivors default to shutdown or people-pleasing rather than aggression or escape. Your dominant response is not a personality flaw — it is evidence that your system learned to survive.
Move toward the threat. Assert control, push back, confront. Strengths: decisiveness, boundaries. Shadow: aggression, dominance.
Move away from the threat. Stay busy, avoid, escape. Strengths: productivity, adaptability. Shadow: burnout, emotional avoidance.
Shut down completely. Go numb, dissociate, collapse. Strengths: endurance, reflection. Shadow: paralysis, disconnection.
Appease the threat. Please, comply, merge. Strengths: empathy, de-escalation. Shadow: self-erasure, codependency.
Trauma responses are triggered by perceived threats — which may not match actual danger. A raised voice, a certain tone, conflict, criticism, or even intimacy can activate your survival response if your nervous system associates it with past harm. The trigger is often unconscious and faster than thought.
Not exactly. Everyone has trauma responses — they are normal survival mechanisms. PTSD is a clinical condition where these responses become chronic, severe, and significantly impair daily functioning. Having a dominant trauma response does not mean you have PTSD, but persistent activation may warrant professional support.
Yes. With awareness, therapy, and nervous system regulation practices, you can develop a wider range of responses rather than defaulting to one. The goal is not to eliminate your survival response but to make it a choice rather than an automatic reaction.
This quiz is for self-reflection purposes only. It is not a clinical diagnosis or substitute for professional help. If you are experiencing trauma-related distress, please consult a qualified mental health professional.
From your report: Core Wound Patterns
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