Before Porges’ (2011) polyvagal theory became widely known, it was commonly thought that the autonomous nervous system has only two branches: the sympathetic system which manages in times of stress, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. author of Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World: A Guide to Balance. Chances are, you’re familiar with fight, flight and freeze.

Fight or flight are not the only common responses to a traumatic event. I addressed this a bit in a column published on November 22, 2022 explaining that some authors describe “4 F’s”: fight, flight, ...

Spend enough time in self-help spaces—by following therapists online or devouring books in that genre—and you'll read quite a bit about the "fight-flight-freeze-fawn" responses to stress. Essentially, ...

For a long time, trauma responses were thought to be limited to just fight or flight. However, psychotherapist Pete Walker (2014) expanded this framework to include four primary trauma responses, the ...

PHILADELPHIA - "Take a deep breath" is the mantra of every anxiety-reducing advice list ever written. And for good reason. There's increasing physiological evidence connecting breathing patterns with ...