Freeze!

I have recently been inspired by a fellow classmates game idea for creating a survival horror video game. After hearing the details of the game, memories of reading about the body language of fear came back to me.

So because of that inspiration this particular article will be about fear. That being the case I will attempt to cover things that may be unknown to some or at least one in particular that may have gone unnoticed.

Many people know two options when reacting to fear; these reactions tend to be known as the “flight or fight” reaction. While these reactions do in fact exist, a very important reaction is left out of this equation; the freeze reaction. The freeze function is very common and almost always comes before the flight or fight reactions.

This is part of the survival reaction our mind and body naturally goes through to understand what is threatening us as well as what the best reaction to this possible danger is. The freeze is a very brief pause when something jumps out unexpectedly within sight or even just a noise that alarms us. The freeze reaction can be very brief, but even so I am sure that some of you have seen the reaction or even experienced it before. In case you can’t remember, I will attempt to give an example.

Imagine if you will that you are walking down a dark alley at midnight for some reason or another. Halfway down this alley you begin to hear loud footsteps bounding behind you. You may think at this time, “Perhaps they are just going the same way as I am.”

The sound of the footsteps begins to sound more rapid, as if the person is beginning to sprint towards you. Feeling fear the body would first respond by halting most of the body’s motion, in an attempt to recognize what or who is making that sound, if it is in fact a threat and what the appropriate reaction is to handle that threat.

Now, just for giggles, the next time you just happen to startle someone, try to notice how they react. Specifically that instant they become afraid. More often than not they will stutter very briefly and then react.

I hope you enjoyed this article and please have a great day. Goodbye.