Trauma Response Cheat Sheet: All Four Types
Everything on one page, by design: the four responses, how each looks on an ordinary day, what tends to set each off, and what helps — in the moment and over time. Print it for the fridge, the journal, the therapy folder, or the friend who keeps asking what fawning means.
Who the trauma response cheat sheet is for
Anyone who wants the whole model at a glance — for themselves, a partner, a client, or the fridge door.
Free, no email needed — print the trauma response cheat sheet (write-in lines included) or save it as a PDF from the print dialog.
One page, three uses
As a reference: check which column lights up on a bad day — that is your entry point into the fuller worksheets. As a teaching tool: the fastest way to explain the model to someone who lives with you. As a tracker's companion: the daily check-in sheet pairs with this one, using the same four columns.
The cheat sheet
The trauma response cheat sheet has 4 sections, in order, each with space to write.
1. FIGHT — meet the threat with force
The confronter.
Tuesday signs: snapping, needing to win, feedback lands as attack, control of plans/people, jaw and fists. Common triggers: disrespect, injustice, being controlled or dismissed. In the moment: exit ramp before the point of no return — leave with a sentence, cold water, long exhales. Long game: anger iceberg work (what's under it), repair skills, the escalation ladder.
- ●Sounds most like: me / partner / parent / colleague (circle) — notes:
2. FLIGHT — get away from the threat
The escaper.
Tuesday signs: no-gap calendar, escape fantasies, leaving things at the getting-real point, anxiety in stillness. Common triggers: feeling trapped, conflict brewing, empty time. In the moment: five-minute stay — feet down, exhale long, let the urge crest. Long game: busyness audit, graded staying practice, learning which exits are wisdom and which are pattern.
- ●Sounds most like: me / partner / parent / colleague — notes:
3. FREEZE — go still until it passes
The statue.
Tuesday signs: fog, task paralysis, hours lost to scrolling, numb more than sad, "lazy" as self-description. Common triggers: too-big demands, evaluation, conflict with no exit. In the moment: body first — push a wall, cold water, stamp feet — then one tiny task. Long game: thaw protocol, early fog signals, shrinking demands below the threat line.
- ●Sounds most like: me / partner / parent / colleague — notes:
4. FAWN — make the threat like you
The appeaser.
Tuesday signs: yes before checking, constant sorry, no stated opinions, managing everyone's moods, exhaustion. Common triggers: anyone's displeasure, conflict anywhere nearby, being asked for anything. In the moment: "let me check and get back to you" — the universal pause. Long game: appeasement log, wants inventory, scripted small nos, boundaries that hold.
- ●Sounds most like: me / partner / parent / colleague — notes:
Before you use this
The trauma response cheat sheet is psychoeducation and self-reflection — not therapy, diagnosis, or crisis support. Go at your own pace; stopping when overwhelmed is information, not failure. If it stirs up more than you can settle, a trauma-informed therapist is the right next step (our therapy guide compares the options) — and the disclaimer has the fine print.
Not sure which trauma response is yours?
The trauma response cheat sheet works best matched to your real pattern.
What's Your Trauma Response?
Answer 12 quick questions to discover whether you lean towards Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn — and what it means for your healing.
Take the Free Quiz →Takes about 2 minutes. No email required.
Trauma Response Cheat Sheet: FAQ
Can I have more than one trauma response?
Almost everyone does — a primary and a backup is the standard configuration, and they often deploy in sequence: fawn until appeasement fails, then fight; or flight until cornered, then freeze. Context matters too: many people run one response at work and another at home. The cheat sheet's circle-prompts are there to catch exactly that spread. If you want your actual profile rather than a self-guess, the site's two-minute quiz ranks all four for you.
Which trauma response is the worst one to have?
None — the question itself is upside down. Each response is the intelligent shape survival took given what worked in your particular past: fight where force protected, flight where escape existed, freeze where neither did, fawn where the threat had to be lived with. Each carries different costs (fight taxes relationships, flight taxes rest, freeze taxes momentum, fawn taxes selfhood), but there is no ranking — only the question of whether YOUR response still fits your actual present, which is what all the worksheets here work on.
Worksheets for the four responses
Related worksheets
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