Responding vs. Reacting to Verbal Abuse: What’s the Difference?
If you’ve ever been in a situation where someone is verbally abusing you, you’ve probably had the urge to do one of four things: get away as soon as possible to avoid the abuse, smooth over the aggression, zone out or freeze up and wait for it to end, or fight back. These are normal human responses by our complex nervous system when it perceives danger, as described by Peter Walker in his book CPTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: “A fight response is triggered when a person suddenly responds aggressively to something threatening. A flight response is triggered when a...