Understanding The Fight or Flight Response

If you have worked with me, chances are that at some point in our time working together, we have explored the fight or flight response. I have found that it can be helpful to both explore and understand this innate response - the function it serves, what it looks like for each person, and how this reaction can initiate at times when there is no real danger or threat. Everyone will experience the fight or flight response and will experience this for different reasons and at varying levels of intensity and duration. Learning to slow down, be aware, and understand what’s happening can help you regain balance and regulation.

So What is the Fight or Flight Response?

The fight or flight response is a physiological reaction that activates following perceived danger, a harmful event, or a threat to survival. It prepares our body to either confront or flee from the threat through indicators such as increased heart rate, pressured breathing, and heightened alertness.

Here are some signs that your fight or flight response might be activated:

• Heart rate might increase to provide more blood, oxygen, and energy to the body increasing your ability to fight or flee.

• Breath may become shallower and/or speed up as your breathing takes in more oxygen for your muscles.

• Muscles might tense up, becoming primed for action. This might involve shaking or trembling.

• You might experience nausea or get “butterflies” in your stomach as blood begins to get directed to where it is needed.

• Thoughts might begin to race. (In theory, quicker thinking can help a person evaluate their environment and make more rapid decisions). This can make it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the danger you perceive.

• You might experience nervousness, acute stress, or intense anger. Or you could experience the mind going blank.

This engrained survival instinct helped our ancestors protect themselves from harm in dangerous environments. For example, when our ancestors encountered a tiger, they had the option to run (flee) or fight. While there are certainly life-threatening experiences that can occur for us today, many of the high-arousal situations we face now are psychological. Some examples of modern-day experiences that can trigger the fight or flight response can include things like; going on a job interview, initiating social interactions, taking test, and many more.

 How Can This Lead to Potential Problems?

The physiological reactions triggered by this response are fueled by psychological fear. Fear becomes conditioned, meaning that over time your brain begins to associate a situation with a negative experience, which then can become a perceived threat. Perceived threats are different for everyone, and your body might begin to respond to these perceived threats with the fight or flight response to keep you safe when there might not be actual “danger”.

While the fight or flight response can be lifesaving in the face of true danger, it can also activate without real threat, leading to mental, physical, and emotional distress. Overactivation of this response may occur due to stress, anxiety, or trauma, and in many of these cases, the body's response to a perceived threat does not align with the severity of the situation. 

Ways to Cope

Understanding your fight or flight response can be the first step in understanding how to cope when this reaction occurs. Stress can negatively impact your body, whether the threat is real or perceived. If you find yourself experiencing this response at extreme levels, frequently, or find it difficult to manage this reaction, treatment can help you explore underlying causes as well as ways to cope.

If you are experiencing a heightened stress response, here are some things to consider:  

Relaxation Techniques

Engaging in activities that promote relaxation, can counteract the fight or flight response, with a relaxation response.

Physical Activity

Regular movement of your body and exercise can help decrease stress levels and improve calmness.

Social Support

Social support can help to minimize the fight or flight response. In the context of healthy relationships, we are better able to feel safe or protected, which can lessen fear.

Therapy

A mental health professional can assist you with determining underlying causes contributing to an overactive fight or flight response while also helping to create a plan to reduce this stress response.