Monthly Archives: November 2010

When Animal Defenses Encounter A Human Predator: Part I

Posted on November 23, 2010 by understandingdissociation

Tonic immobility is the ‘last chance’ biological reflex that is triggered when an animal is caught by a predator. Today’s post focuses on a rarely noted fact about tonic immobility — it has 4 possible outcomes, not two: (1) death … Continue reading →

Posted in animal defenses, dissociation, evolution, first-person accounts, human predators, research, Tonic immobility, trauma | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Disentangling Animal Defenses From Dissociation: Part IV

Posted on November 13, 2010 by understandingdissociation

Today, we focus on the ‘last chance’ animal defenses — those that spontaneously activate when an animal (which includes us!) is threatened with imminent death. So far, we have examined two ‘last chance’ defenses: (1) the evolution-prepared switch to accelerated … Continue reading →

Posted in animal defenses, dissociation, evolution, neurobiology, parasympathetic nervous system, Tonic immobility, trauma | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Disentangling Animal Defenses From Dissociation: Part III

Posted on November 4, 2010 by understandingdissociation

My unvarnished opinion is that the dissociation literature’s discussions of animal defenses (1) routinely conflate different kinds of immobility (freezing) and (2) fail to appreciate crucial differences between trauma and biological survival. I have been reviewing that literature lately. The … Continue reading →

Posted in animal defenses, dissociation, evolution, evolution-prepared dissociation, first-person accounts, intentional/voluntary dissociation, parasympathetic nervous system, peritraumatic dissociation, Tonic immobility, trance, trauma | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments