The Flight trauma response—what we can think of as the Escape Artist. Clever, high-energy, and an expert at thinking on his feet. Like Kevin, your flight instinct is to find ways to avoid or outrun stress, using your creative mind to stay a step ahead of potential threats.

Understanding Your Flight Response: Outrun stress

IIn moments of stress or overwhelm, your nervous system’s primary response may be to “flee.” This response can show up in various ways, including:

• Feeling restless or fidgety
• Becoming super productive or staying busy to avoid sitting with difficult emotions
• Using high-energy activities, such as exercise, to manage stress
• Seeking escape through planning, strategizing, and staying one step ahead

While the flight response can be protective, prolonged activation can increase anxiety or lead to a cycle of avoidance, making it hard to address the root causes of stress.

Here’s the Flight Response Brain Based tutorial

When the flight response is activated, your body needs movement.

1. Sensory Input for Connection: When you feel the urge to escape, try gently rubbing your skin, such as your arms or hands. This sensory input engages the somatosensory cortex in your brain, which helps reinforce body awareness and decrease feelings of threat. Reconnecting with your body in this way can offer comfort and promote safety.
2. Releasing Tension through Shaking:
   Light, repetitive shaking—of your hands, legs, or even a whole-body shake—can help release accumulated stress by relaxing your muscles and activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This calming response soothes the fight-or-flight cycle, helping you feel more grounded and less agitated.

Your Flight response is a perfectly natural way your nervous system attempts to protect you. By understanding this instinct, you can learn to channel it toward thoughtful problem-solving and movement outlets that grounds you, helping you find balance without feeling the need to escape.

Let your inner “Kevin McCallister” shine—resourceful, creative, and always ready to face life’s challenges with clever solutions and quick thinking!

Curious to learn more about the other three trauma responses? How we react to stress can change over time or depending on the situation. It’s helpful to understand how to support yourself and recognize when someone else is triggered. Feel free to visit this blog for a summary of each trauma response and practical ways to navigate them.