17 Subtle Signs Someone Has Been Through A Lot Of Sh*t In Their Life

6.

“They usually fall into one of these three:”

“Hyper-reactive and defensive — always on edge, because life’s taught them to expect the worst. (Unprocessed trauma.)

Withdrawn and distant — they’ve shut out the world as a form of protection. (Denial, isolation, checked out from people or life.)

Chill to the point of detachment — they’ve stopped caring about most things because caring too much used to hurt.

But at the end of the day, if you really think about it, these are all just assumptions. We never truly know unless that person chooses to share their truth.”

—FitAdministration257

“This is actually completely true, on a psychological level. What you just described are the three most common coping mechanisms/defense mechanisms of a person who’s facing trauma.

1) Fight 2) Flight 3) Freeze.

What people don’t talk about often, though, is that there is a fourth, which is Fawn. It’s when you attach to people too easily, give all of yourself/resources/opinions away in order to please others in the hopes you’ll stay ‘safe’ as long as you stay compliant and subservient to a certain person/situation.”

—Yamsforyou