The freeze responsefreeze

The freeze response is the body staying where it is in a moment when neither fighting nor fleeing seems possible. When the nervous system senses that movement would increase the danger, it, as it were, freezes the person; this resembles prey waiting motionless before a predator. Freezing can be experienced as an outward stillness together with a high inner arousal. This response is not a weakness but an automatic protective strategy of the body. Freezing is a defense that waits until the danger has passed.