The Freeze that Wounds

Here is where the encased heart enters the picture. This third strategy of freezing is the one that is likely to give us the most trouble in our current environment. There are two ways in which we freeze. First, we freeze when we are physically hurt. This freezing activates the healing functions of our body (the parasympathetic system). If one is about to lose a significant amount of blood, then fainting may reduce blood loss. The second type of freeze is the one we witness with the “deer in the headlights” phenomenon. We see a danger and go into an immediate immobilization. We are aroused (sympathetic system), but we stay still to avoid the predator rather than either fight or flee. We hold ourselves motionless, hoping not to be seen.

Most of us no longer live on the African Savannah and rarely, if ever, facing a menacing lion. However, human beings have the capacity to envision something that is not physically present. This capacity is adaptive (favorable for our evolution) when it comes to planning for and envisioning potential escape routes from potential predators. It is very maladaptive when it comes to envisioning lions and other predators that in reality don’t threaten us physically. These “lions” can be an over-demanding Board of Directors, an overdue financial report, a competitor for market share, or an irate customer. Our body reacts to these “lions” as if they were a physical danger.

When facing imagined lions, we find that we can only deploy a freeze pattern and are unable, ever, to either fight or flee. We are constantly aroused and yet are frozen in inaction. This stress gets translated into a host of painful mechanisms (anger, depression, or panic attacks). We learn to freeze and hold on. We never let go. The energy we have generated in preparation for the lion never gets released into either fight or flight. Sapolsky proposes that people get ulcers because they can imagine lions that come in many forms. While our mind knows that these lions don’t really exist, our body doesn’t. It prepares for the fight, flight or freeze, turns off the digestive system, begins to pump activating hormones into our body and ensures that we don’t fall asleep while running away from or seeking to overcome the lion.

Sapolsky’s analysis is certainly provocative—and he is certainly not alone in proposing that humans get into physiological trouble because they can imagine threats which their bodies don’t realize are imagined. However, there is something missing here. Other animals (at least mammals) can imagine things that aren’t there. Dogs can anticipate a walk around the block when the collar is put on them. Cats often sulk when their owners are about to leave on a trip. So, why do people get ulcers?

Wounding of an Encased Heart

There appear to be three possible reasons why we as humans tend to wound ourselves. Each reason holds significant implications with regard to character armor and the encased heart. First, humans may see more imagined lions than do other animals. Perhaps other animals are more selective about what they imagine. The sulking cat may be able to imagine the departure of her beloved owner, but she might not begin to imagine other possible misfortunes, such as a failure on the part of her owner to leave out food for her, or the potential attack on her by the family dog.