r/askpsychology • u/_gallaghergirl_ • 10h ago
Cognitive Psychology How common is it to cycle through more than one stress response in a single event?
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For example, someone under threat trying to flee, then trying to fight, then freezing, then flopping.
I was told this is somewhat unusual, and that it’s more common to just see one stress response (or maybe two) in a single event. I suppose this might be highly situation-dependent, but I was curious if there is research on whether people usually just pick one survival strategy or whether it‘s common to burn through several while trying to survive a situation.
I wasn’t sure which flair to use, so I apologize if I got it wrong!