The ‘Fight or Flight’ Response
When you feel physiological feelings of fear these are due to the ‘fight or flight’ response.
The 'fight or flight' response is the body's automatic, physiological reaction to a situation or event that is perceived as threatening. It happens incredibly quickly and outside of our conscious control. It is an evolutionary adaption inherited from our ancestors and without it humans probably wouldn’t have survived.
This response is also useful for us in today’s world. For example, it is what triggers you to slam on the brakes if the car in front of you suddenly stops. Sometimes this response occurs when it doesn't need to though. This is because the brain struggles to tell the difference between a real life-threatening situation and a perceived threat. We have all sorts of potential pressures and stresses to navigate in modern life, such as meetings, deadlines and family responsibilities. These can activate the fight or flight system too, leading to feelings of anxiety and panic.
How does the ‘fight or flight’ response affect the body?
When your fight or flight response is activated, you will notice a number of effects on the body. This is because your body is preparing itself to deal with the threat. These responses are a normal evolutionary adaptation and help keep us safe.
Below are some of these effects and why they happen. Have you ever noticed any of them yourself?
Racing thoughts
Improves your ability to make rapid decisions under threat. It is harder to concentrate as blood is redirected to the muscles, away from the prefrontal cortex (the rational, ‘thinking’ part of the brain).
Pale or flushed skin
Increased blood flow to muscles & away from non-essential parts of body.
Increased availability of glucose
Increased energy for muscles.
Need to wee
Muscles in the bladder relax.
Muscle tension/shaking
Due to body getting ready for action.
Dry mouth
Due to digestion shutting down as it is non-essential in a threatening situation. Also caused by narrowing of blood vessels.
Pupils dilate
Allows more light in & improves vision.
Increased heart rate
More blood is being pumped to the muscles. Also, increases your ability to act.
Increased respiration
Increases availability of oxygen in the blood for powering muscles.
Dizzy or lightheaded
Due to increased oxygen.
Sweating
To keep cool and be more efficient.
Nausea and abdominal symptoms
Due to blood being diverted away from the digestive system and stomach muscles relaxing.
Cold/tingling/numb hands and feet
Constriction of blood vessels forces blood to major muscle groups.
Difficulty reasoning and gaining perspective
Due to the ‘thinking’ part of our brain - the prefrontal cortex - temporarily stopping working properly.
What happens when the ‘fight or flight’ response is activated?
The response begins with the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotional processing. It keeps us safe by alerting us to danger, like an alarm. It interprets information and if it perceives a threat it sends a distress signal to another part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is like a command centre and communicates with the body through the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system has two components:
The sympathetic nervous system is involved in the 'fight or flight' response.
The parasympathetic nervous system is involved in 'rest and digest' and calms the body.
When the sympathetic nervous system is activated, an acute stress response is triggered. This prepares the body for action, including fight or flight. Adrenaline is released from the adrenal glands into the blood triggering physiological changes in the body. If we successfully fight or flee, and the threat passes, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated and calms the body.
However, sometimes the brain perceives a threatening situation but running or fighting is not necessary. For example, if you receive criticism at work or are running late for an important meeting. Because you never actually run or fight the brain does not receive the signal that the threat is over, so the system doesn’t switch off.
This leads to increasing bodily symptoms of the ‘fight or flight’ response that we may interpret as dangerous. For example, we may believe we are having a heart attack due to our racing heart. This results in a vicious cycle that increases the ‘fight or flight’ response. Understandably, we may fear the experience happening again meaning we become more hypervigilant and engage in various behaviours to try and keep us safe. Unfortunately, this does not prevent anxiety or panic happening, but can actually make it more likely.
When we are repeatedly triggered by real or perceived threats, this can lead to chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The threat system is over-active. The body releases cortisol and you may experience a variety of effects, such as:
Struggling to sleep
Increased tension
Low energy
Feeling on-edge
Physical symptoms, for example stomach issues or headaches
This can cause further worry, resulting in a vicious cycle that increases the 'fight or flight' response.
The ‘freeze or fawn’ response
In addition to the ‘fight or flight’ response, some people may experience ‘freeze or fawn’. The freeze response involves dissociation and depersonalisation. This may feel like you are detached from yourself, your body and the world around you. This usually happens when your brain assesses the situation and concludes you are unable to fight or flee the threat. The fawn response involves trying to appease the threat and may include behaviours, such as people-pleasing .
How do I stop the ‘fight or flight’ response happening?
Hopefully, by now you understand that the ‘fight or flight’ response can be really useful and helps us survive. However, when we experience ongoing anxiety and panic the system can become over sensitive and the ‘alarm’ is triggered even when there is no threat present.
You have already taken the first step by reading this blog post. Understanding what happens during the ‘fight or flight’ response, learning that your body is working correctly and knowing that you are normal is really important.
The next step is learning how to switch off the response when it is not needed. This is where therapy can be really helpful as support can be tailored specifically for you. If therapy is not an option for you right now, I will be covering some tools and techniques to help you feel calmer in other blog posts, so keep an eye out for those.
If you are interested in working together to understand your ‘fight or flight’ response better and learn how to feel calmer, please do get in touch and we can arrange a free, informal 15-minute chat.
You can also find me on Instagram @therapywithamy_
