Retraining the Freeze Response

In “’Run, Hide, Fight’ is Not How Our Brains Work, “ Joseph Ledoux examines the three-step safety plan  from the FBI and Homeland Security of run, hide, fight.  Ledoux argues that scientifically the advice falls short because people are hard-wired to freeze in the face of danger.  He posits that we cannot just tell people to stop freezing but that we have to learn how to interrupt a freeze response—what he calls cognitive reappraisal.  Self-defense training is one way to retrain the freeze response and to enhance our ability to shift from freezing to action.