The Ultimate Body Language Book
Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Language Freeze, Flight or Fight Even the fear facial expression is a classic “freeze” response. It’s as if the face has been caught in a flash of emotion.
The fight or flight response is a bit a misnomer. It’s not actually how humans or other animals respond to stress and danger. Lazy by nature and especially cautious of injury, recall we didn’t have doctors and hospitals thousands of years ago and even today most animals receive no secondary care from veterinarians, we have evolved the proclivity to handle situations in more appropriate ways. Most animals, humans included, will naturally sequence freeze, flight and flight in that order. Freezing is important to assess the situation, for how does one know what they are running from, and in what direction, if they don’t first identify the object of their fear. White-tailed deer will first begin by winding predators, and if they sense that it is close, may seemingly flee instantly, but usually they will freeze in place to first identify the type of predator, human or other, its location, and its proximity. They do this by tilting their heads back and passing deep breaths into their lungs through their noses and over a specialized fluid filled structure called the vomeronasal organ. For deer, it is their sense of smell that is their primary means of safety. Since their eyes are much less acute than their noses, they rely on catching movement from predators especially when they are being stalks from downwind when scenting isn’t an option. When movement is caught, deer will try to “flush” the danger by stomping a foot rhythmically before fleeing. The foot stomp is a deer’s way of nonverbally signaling to a predator that they have been made, that the “jig is up”, so to speak, and that it’s time to identify themselves. The deer knows that a predator is in the vicinity though sight, smell and sound, or possibly just has a hunch that something is amiss, and instead of fleeing outright wants to be totally certain before “hightailing it!” To a deer, or human, running at all potential danger is wasteful and time consuming and not always appropriate. By the way, the deer put his white tail up (the underside of a deer’s tail is white, hence the original of its name), and will snort-wheeze which is done by forcefully exhaling pressurized air through their mouth, to signal to predators that pursuit is futile. Because animals have no verbal language, they communicate using nonverbal signals, and in this case, it happens even across species. When humans are presented with fearful situations, they also tend to freeze. Like in animals, movement attracts attention and so to become a less obvious target to attack, the body becomes motionless. Survivors of the Columbine shooting in 1999 played dead so as to be overlooked by the shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold despite being in plain view. Some of the survivors were just a few steps away from the shooters. Freezing is an evolutionary strategy that reduces the chances that predator will identify them and switches off their attack response. In everyday life we see the freeze response when people are caught in the act of theft, when caught lying, or when hiding something. Is it an accident that police officers yell “Stop right, there” or “Freeze scumbag” when they’ve got a suspect in their sights? Screaming this might even yield a momentary freeze response if done loud enough. That is until the suspects get a chance to see who is it that uttered the command, and in which direction they should run. Shoplifters have been identified by overhead surveillance, among other body language, by the way they seem to reduce their profile, hunch over and reduce their arm movements. This is the art of “hiding in plain view” and is no different from what anyone else does when they want to get by unnoticed. I know my son is up to no good when things go particularly quiet in the house. More often then not I’m right! People will habitually freeze when they are scolded, children and adults alike, and sometimes reduce their breath rate especially under intense scrutiny. Stress can therefore cause shallow breathing, which is why we remind people through meditation to take deep breaths to dissipate tension. You may notice someone holding their breath or even pushing breath through their mouths, we call these sighs, and it indicates stress and hidden tension. Sometimes the cheeks are puffed out where air is slowly exhaled and other times sign are riddled throughout conversation or while busy doing other tasks. If you notice someone consistently doing this you know it’s their way of “Blowing off steam.” Be watchful of the freeze response because in context can tell you that someone is stressed and is trying to go under the radar. Be particularly conscious of freezing that happens suddenly by the presence of others as it will
- Page 329 and 330: A purse can be used as a shield to
- Page 331 and 332: higher than a few inches, or the ha
- Page 333 and 334: The chair is a prop used to shield
- Page 335 and 336: conditions, so we might benefit fro
- Page 337 and 338: Chapter 9 -Defensive And Aggressive
- Page 339 and 340: Chapter 9 -Defensive And Aggressive
- Page 341 and 342: Fists clenching is an early sign of
- Page 343 and 344: Nose flaring or “nasal wing dilat
- Page 345 and 346: Chapter 9 -Defensive And Aggressive
- Page 347 and 348: This isn’t going well - she looks
- Page 349 and 350: Chapter 9 -Defensive And Aggressive
- Page 351 and 352: Chapter 10 - Attentive And Evaluati
- Page 353 and 354: Chapter 10 - Attentive And Evaluati
- Page 355 and 356: A slouched appearance is a clear me
- Page 357 and 358: Chapter 10 - Attentive And Evaluati
- Page 359 and 360: Chapter 10 - Attentive And Evaluati
- Page 361 and 362: cartoons. The cliché says that the
- Page 363 and 364: is disliked. However, there is anot
- Page 365 and 366: the glasses signifies deep thought.
- Page 367 and 368: form a bridge. In this posture fing
- Page 369 and 370: interlocked hands as if praying but
- Page 371 and 372: one’s self back” as one might d
- Page 373 and 374: Pinching the bridge of the nose. Ch
- Page 375 and 376: emotions we talk about what motivat
- Page 377 and 378: Burying yourself in a book or liste
- Page 379: smoothing clothing, rotating a wedd
- Page 383 and 384: Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Languag
- Page 385 and 386: Extreme anxiety causes the desire t
- Page 387 and 388: Clenching and gripping can have man
- Page 389 and 390: A hand-to-mouth gesture used to pla
- Page 391 and 392: Tugging at the ears helps distract
- Page 393 and 394: is also in effort to self sooth. Wi
- Page 395 and 396: indicate confrontation due to anger
- Page 397 and 398: as the fingers stroke the inside of
- Page 399 and 400: need to mouth it, and yet it, so as
- Page 401 and 402: When the mouth becomes inverted in
- Page 403 and 404: Pushing the tongue through compress
- Page 405 and 406: Sneering often happens as a microex
- Page 407 and 408: The ear grab refers to a subconscio
- Page 409 and 410: Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Languag
- Page 411 and 412: Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Languag
- Page 413 and 414: Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Languag
- Page 415 and 416: Itchy nose or does this mean someth
- Page 417 and 418: Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Languag
- Page 419 and 420: aggressive with their gestures and
- Page 421 and 422: These legs are interested - note ho
- Page 423 and 424: where the toe is facing down, but t
- Page 425 and 426: useful skill in reading people. Bei
- Page 427 and 428: Happiness. Happiness (smile): The g
- Page 429 and 430: __________ Ever thought about why o
<strong>The</strong> fight or flight response is a bit a misnomer. It’s not actually how humans or other animals respond<br />
to stress and danger. Lazy by nature and especially cautious of injury, recall we didn’t have doctors and<br />
hospitals thousands of years ago and even today most animals receive no secondary care from<br />
veterinarians, we have evolved the proclivity to handle situations in more appropriate ways. Most<br />
animals, humans included, will naturally sequence freeze, flight and flight in that order. Freezing is<br />
important to assess the situation, for how does one know what they are running from, and in what<br />
direction, if they don’t first identify the object of their fear.<br />
White-tailed deer will first begin by winding predators, and if they sense that it is close, may seemingly<br />
flee instantly, but usually they will freeze in place to first identify the type of predator, human or other,<br />
its location, and its proximity. <strong>The</strong>y do this by tilting their heads back and passing deep breaths into<br />
their lungs through their noses and over a specialized fluid filled structure called the vomeronasal<br />
organ. For deer, it is their sense of smell that is their primary means of safety. Since their eyes are much<br />
less acute than their noses, they rely on catching movement from predators especially when they are<br />
being stalks from downwind when scenting isn’t an option. When movement is caught, deer will try to<br />
“flush” the danger by stomping a foot rhythmically before fleeing. <strong>The</strong> foot stomp is a deer’s way of<br />
nonverbally signaling to a predator that they have been made, that the “jig is up”, so to speak, and that<br />
it’s time to identify themselves. <strong>The</strong> deer knows that a predator is in the vicinity though sight, smell and<br />
sound, or possibly just has a hunch that something is amiss, and instead of fleeing outright wants to be<br />
totally certain before “hightailing it!” To a deer, or human, running at all potential danger is wasteful<br />
and time consuming and not always appropriate. By the way, the deer put his white tail up (the<br />
underside of a deer’s tail is white, hence the original of its name), and will snort-wheeze which is done<br />
by forcefully exhaling pressurized air through their mouth, to signal to predators that pursuit is futile.<br />
Because animals have no verbal language, they communicate using nonverbal signals, and in this case,<br />
it happens even across species.<br />
When humans are presented with fearful situations, they also tend to freeze. Like in animals, movement<br />
attracts attention and so to become a less obvious target to attack, the body becomes motionless.<br />
Survivors of the Columbine shooting in 1999 played dead so as to be overlooked by the shooters Eric<br />
Harris and Dylan Klebold despite being in plain view. Some of the survivors were just a few steps<br />
away from the shooters. Freezing is an evolutionary strategy that reduces the chances that predator will<br />
identify them and switches off their attack response. In everyday life we see the freeze response when<br />
people are caught in the act of theft, when caught lying, or when hiding something. Is it an accident that<br />
police officers yell “Stop right, there” or “Freeze scumbag” when they’ve got a suspect in their sights?<br />
Screaming this might even yield a momentary freeze response if done loud enough. That is until the<br />
suspects get a chance to see who is it that uttered the command, and in which direction they should run.<br />
Shoplifters have been identified by overhead surveillance, among other body language, by the way they<br />
seem to reduce their profile, hunch over and reduce their arm movements. This is the art of “hiding in<br />
plain view” and is no different from what anyone else does when they want to get by unnoticed. I know<br />
my son is up to no good when things go particularly quiet in the house. More often then not I’m right!<br />
People will habitually freeze when they are scolded, children and adults alike, and sometimes reduce<br />
their breath rate especially under intense scrutiny. Stress can therefore cause shallow breathing, which<br />
is why we remind people through meditation to take deep breaths to dissipate tension. You may notice<br />
someone holding their breath or even pushing breath through their mouths, we call these sighs, and it<br />
indicates stress and hidden tension. Sometimes the cheeks are puffed out where air is slowly exhaled<br />
and other times sign are riddled throughout conversation or while busy doing other tasks. If you notice<br />
someone consistently doing this you know it’s their way of “Blowing off steam.” Be watchful of the<br />
freeze response because in context can tell you that someone is stressed and is trying to go under the<br />
radar. Be particularly conscious of freezing that happens suddenly by the presence of others as it will