Overcoming Fawning Trauma: Strategies for Recovery

When most people think of trauma responses, they are familiar with the “fight or flight” reaction—the body’s natural instinct to either confront a danger or escape from it. However, another response is often overlooked: the fawn trauma response. This is a behavior pattern that involves people-pleasing, appeasing, and trying to maintain peace in stressful or threatening situations. While it may seem like a harmless way to cope, it can lead to severe emotional and psychological difficulties when it becomes a habitual response to trauma.