You’ve heard of the fight and flight reflexes, but what about flop and fake? Flop and fake (also known as fawn) are two of the other responses in the polyvagal system, a theory about how our nervous systems adapt to stress and the environment. Fake/fawn is a people-pleasing response, and flop means you just lie there unable to drum up motivation. In this ... Show More
Yesterday
Listen Again: 12 Signs You Might Be Part of the Awakening
As many of you Gatherers know, lately I’ve been feeling that something is changing in this world in a profound way...and I don’t think I’m the only one. There’s a sense of irrational hope, a strange joy, an anticipation that something wonderful is happening amidst all the horrors ... Show More
32m 9s
Oct 2022
145: The Sacral Chakra Stress Response – Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn Part 4
<p>It's time to talk about the final stress response of the series - the Fawn Response. In the fawn response, we’re trying to diffuse a dangerous situation, but not in a way that is helpful to us. It's one of the least studied responses, but one that I think a lot of us use and w ... Show More
16m 6s
Jul 2024
Anxiety Recovery and the Fawn / People Pleasing Response (Episode 72)
Send us Fan MailFight ... flight ... or freeze. But what about the fawn response?This week on Disordered, Drew and Josh explore the fawn response and people pleasing. While this may not be a response we see directly like we do with fight, flight, or freeze, the fawn response that ... Show More
41m 59s
Nov 2022
“Fawning”—A Response to Trauma
In the face of trauma and conflict, some people respond with anger, some respond by fleeing . . . and some, like Person A, respond with a flood of appeasing, soothing, and conciliatory behavior. “Fight or flight” is an option for some people, but for those with a history of traum ... Show More
13m 25s
Mar 2023
#238 - How To Stay Calm When The Sh-t Hits The Fan
<p>After everything we’ve all been through at one point in our lives, it’s safe to say that our nervous systems have been through a lot. Most of us have been perpetually operating with high-stress levels due to work stress, health problems, financial struggles, or many other life ... Show More
32m 12s
Jun 2024
The Fawn Response: People Pleasing, Self-Abandonment, and Standing Up for Yourself
Dr. Rick and Forrest finish their series on the stress responses with the fawn response: an appeasement strategy where we manage stressful situations by giving others what they want. Rick and Forrest start by discussing common symptoms, including people pleasing, self-abandonment ... Show More
1h 13m
Sep 2025
People Pleasing and the Fawn Response with Meg Josephson
Forrest and therapist Meg Josephson explore the fawn response, a survival strategy where safety is sought by pleasing other people. They discuss how fawning can start as self-protection in childhood, but later morph into overthinking, hypervigilance, and self-abandonment. Meg sha ... Show More
1h 14m