Episode 44: Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn? What Helping Professionals and Leaders Need to Know.

Episode 44: Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn? What Helping Professionals and Leaders Need to KnowHave you ever walked away from a difficult interaction at work and wondered..."Why did I react like that?"Maybe you became defensive.Maybe your mind went completely blank.Maybe you wanted to leave the situation as quickly as possible.Or perhaps you found yourself saying yes when you really wanted to say no.In this vulnerable episode of Not Another PD, I explore the fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses through the lens of helping professionals and leaders.Rather than talking about these stress responses in theory, I share honest examples from my own career as a social worker and reflect on how these automatic responses showed up when I felt psychologically under threat at work.Together, we chat about:What the fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses can actually look like in helping professionals.Why psychologically threatening situations at work can trigger automatic survival responses.Real examples from my own career in public housing and child protection.How people-pleasing can develop as a stress response.What leaders can do to better recognise and respond to these patterns within their teams.Why supervision, reflective practice and debriefing play such an important role in supporting practitioners and leaders.One of the biggest messages I wanted to leave you with is this:We're not robots.Whether you're a practitioner, a supervisor or a leader, you're still human. We all have nervous systems, and we all respond differently when we feel under threat. The more we understand our own stress responses, the more compassion we can have for ourselves and for the people around us.I'd love to know what came up for you after listening, so please do let me know!Work directly with Jazmin:Leadership Supervision & ConsultationSupporting leaders in the helping professions to navigate difficult conversations, professional boundaries, team wellbeing and the realities of leadership.Professional SupervisionReflective, evidence-informed supervision for social workers, community services professionals and leaders across Australia.Professional Boundaries TrainingA self-paced online course designed to help helping professionals build ethical, sustainable professional boundaries with confidence.Free resources to enhance your practice.Socialise with Jazmin:Join Jazmin's Email CommunityReceive practical insights, podcast updates, evidence-informed resources and be the first to hear about upcoming leadership training, supervision opportunities and new programs.LinkedInInstagramFacebook: Jazmin Pursell ConsultingIf you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you could follow the podcast and leave a rating or review. It helps more helping professionals and leaders discover these conversations.Thank you for joining me.See you next time,Jazmin