Why You Freeze When You Experience Racism

Written By Marit Demissie

We’ve all had those moments - you’re having a seemingly harmless conversation, or walking down the street minding your business, and the next thing you know, BAM, there’s a microaggression or a racial slur.

In those moments you don’t always respond the way you wish you did - often you don’t say or do anything at all.

And it’s something that happens to a lot of us, because science.

Your Body's Stress Response

When you perceive something as a threat - such as a colleague saying something offensive - your body’s stress response kicks in.

According to Dr. Shelly Harrell your stress response in relation to racial trauma works in three phases.

The Orienting Phase

First you are going to have to orient yourself to the situation, you’re asking yourself: 

  • What just happened?

  • Why am I feeling this way? 

  • What was the underlying message? 

And you’re looking around to see if other people have noticed and are reacting too. 

The Alarm Phase

If no-one validates what you just witnessed or experienced, and you are still feeling under threat, your stress response is going to kick up a level and trigger your Fight or Flight response.

At this stage, you have figured out that something is not right, and you need to take action. You might be thinking:

  • Do I need to speak up? 

  • Do I need to get out of here? 

  • What should I do? 

The Freeze Phase

If there is no immediate action you can take - your body’s stress response will do what it needs to protect you. Just like an antelope caught by a lion, your body will shut down, collapse, and freeze - waiting for the threat to go away. Your logical, thinking brain has gone offline and your reptilian, survival brain is in control - it’s only job is to keep you alive. And that means you can’t think about what to say or do next - and so you do nothing.

These responses are common and normal.

If you have ever become tongue tied and frozen when confronted with racism, your body is doing its job by protecting you and making sure you survive. Similarly, if you have ever gotten into an argument, or just left the situation, that is normal too - your fight or flight response enabled you to stand up for yourself or get out of there to find safety. 

In those moments, there is something we can do to help bring our rational, thinking brain back online so we can choose how to safely respond. We can learn to regulate our nervous system. It is not easy, and it takes practice, but it can be done.

Exercises to Regulate Your Nervous System

These exercises are not suitable if you are in immediate physical danger. 

These exercises can be practised when you experience emotional, psychological, or perceived threats; when your stress response is activated when you are actually safe from physical harm. 

For Fight or Flight Response

When you are stuck in fight or flight you breathe more rapidly, which lowers your oxygen levels, makes you feel dizzy, and increases your heart rate. So you want to slow your heart rate, and increase your oxygen levels by exhaling excess carbon dioxide. You can do this by practising 4-7-8 breathing. 

4-7-8 Breathing

  • Bring attention to the natural rhythm of your breathing.

  • Breathe in for a count of 4 - hold for a count of 7 - and breathe out for a count of 8. Repeat this 4 times. 

  • Notice the sensations in your body as your chest and belly rise and fall.

  • Feel your heart rate slow and resume the natural rhythm of your breath.

  • Affirm yourself with a statement such as: ‘I am safe’ or any affirmation that will work for you in that moment.

For Freeze Response

When you are frozen, rather than calming your nervous system, we want to activate it. The idea is to bring you back into the present moment, back into your body, and to focus on where you are now -  noticing that there is no physical threat, and that you are safe to respond how you wish.

Grounding

Do as few or as many of these as you need:

  • Look around the room and name 5 things you can see, move your whole head, not just your eyes, if possible.

  • Feel the support of the chair beneath your body, or earth beneath your feet. 

  • Make your hands into fists and open and close them a few times. 

  • Notice your breathing, and feel it in your body.

  • Move your body in some way - such as stretching or stomping your feet.

  • Give yourself a reassuring pat or stroke your arm, if that feels comforting.

When you can choose how you want to respond, you are empowered.

These exercises will help to bring you back into your conscious awareness. They will give you space to be able to think more clearly and decide what to do next. 

References:

Dr. Shelly Harrell, Treating Racial Trauma: Strategies for Working with the Wounds of Racism (2019). National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioural Medicine.

Dr. Andrew Weil, 4-7-8 Breathing (2023), https://www.drweil.com/videos-features/videos/breathing-exercises-4-7-8-breath/

Blue Knot Foundation (2021), https://blueknot.org.au/survivors/survivor-self-care/grounding/

Marit Demissie