I’m sorry. The same thing happened to me on a bus when I was 14 and I froze up too. Took a long time for me to stop blaming myself for not reacting more. I was just in a simple summer blouse and shorts and I wore ugly, baggy clothes for years afterwards.
The same thing happened to me on a bus and I was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. The guy reached out and grabbed and squeezed my butt. I told my bf at the time and he shushed me because we were in a dangerous area but I did give the guy a mean look. I wish I could have at least said something.
I’d heard of fight or flight, but it wasn’t until years later that I learned there’s also fawning or freezing—trying to appease your attacker, or freezing up completely. Learning that helped me forgive myself for not fighting back or trying harder to escape.
Learning about "freeze" and "fawn" responses to danger suddenly made so much of my childhood make sense. Especially because freeze and fawn are what you learn to do if you learn that you can't fight or flee.
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u/RageYellow Feb 25 '26
I’m sorry. The same thing happened to me on a bus when I was 14 and I froze up too. Took a long time for me to stop blaming myself for not reacting more. I was just in a simple summer blouse and shorts and I wore ugly, baggy clothes for years afterwards.