People talk a lot about fight or flight, but there are two other responses to uncertainty and fear which are equally, if not more, more common in people. Those are fawn, and freeze. Fawn is, smile and try to smooth things over and keep things quiet and maybe you won’t be hurt. Freeze is, mechanically continue doing what you’re Supposed to do, or even genuinely freeze, just do nothing while everything happens around you; if you are very still, maybe the nightmare will pass you by, or maybe pure terror just turns you into a statue.
The way you triumph over fawn and freeze is exactly the same as how you conquer your urge to flee, or to lash out unthinkingly in times of stress: You have to practice.
You have to practice in your head, before you get to the point that you might need to do it in real life. You have to really think about it. If someone comes to my door and asks me to talk about my neighbors, what do I do. If the neighbor comes to the door and begs me to hide them, what do I do. If I’m walking to the car in the Kroger parking lot and I see agents taking someone down, what do I do. If I’m driving down the road and I see someone getting their car windows busted open, what do I do. If the enemy comes to my place of work and I am expected to just go along with it, to aid them in their efforts, what do I do.
You have to plan. Who is your emergency call? What is your support network? How can you strengthen your community before the beasts come to destroy it? Which coworkers do you think would back you up, and so you should become closer to them now? Which coworkers do you think would provide aid to the monsters, and so should be distracted when the time comes?
You have to prepare. It’s time to dump some apps off your phone and load others. Time to make sure that the first aid kit you keep in your car is up to date. Time to make sure the guest room is cleaned out. Time to get your cardio up a little, maybe. Time to get a whistle. Time to figure out what options you have, and how they can fill the needs you might face.
This all sucks. It’s unlikely to suck much less very soon. It’s our responsibility to push back, as we can, in ways quiet and loud–and it’s a lot easier to rise to the need if we’re not doing it entirely cold.
pixelskylines
ellievsbear
germansingergirl
yousharknotpass
gracieabrams
