Identify Your Unhelpful Reactions To Stress

In the face of stress, most of us display a unique blend of the four F’s: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn reactions. While we all experience each of the four F’s in one way or another, most of us default to one or two main types of stress response. Unfortunately, these automatic responses often work against our wellbeing.

Who can this Four F stress response worksheet help, and how?

This worksheet is good for people who have experienced:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Overwhelm
• Relationship struggles
• Communication issues
• High emotional sensitivity

If you know which of the four F’s you “favor,” it’s easier to identify and solve unhelpful reactions to stress. That’s what this worksheet aims to help you do. Circle all the traits that apply, so that you can realistically reflect on your patterns.

Combined stress response types

Even stress-responses that seem contradictory can be observed in combined action. Take a look at the following examples of combined four F types:

Fight-Flight: actively or aggressively pushing people away by picking fights

Fight-Freeze: isolating yourself and creating conflict with those who approach you

Fight-Fawn: lashing out, then immediately apologizing and self-punishing

Flight-Freeze: hyperfocusing on fantasy or non-real-world activities

Flight-Fawn: hyperfocusing on the needs of others

Freeze-Fawn: getting stuck in “waiting” mode until someone requests something from you

Related worksheets

• Turn People-Pleasing Behaviors Into Self-Protective Ones (Fawn and Freeze)
• Track Your Pre-Crisis Patterns
• Build Assertiveness Skills (Flight, Fawn, Freeze)
• A Menu For Improving Personal Boundaries
• Get Comfortable With Unfamiliar Emotions
• When You Want To Collapse, Lean Into It (Freeze)