It is not coping skills or behavior modification
Though it could and should be part of any stress management program, Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ does not teach you to live with your stress.
It acts like a ‘tune up for your nervous system’ so you handle stress better. You are functioning at a higher level. Things that had been stressful suddenly become less so.

It is not EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a wonderful and extremely valuable technique used in psychotherapy for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). As the name implies, it is designed to desensitize you to specific traumatic events in your life. Many people have benefited by becoming less reactive to these feelings and memories. But the overall effect on your nervous system’s shift into ‘fight or flight’ is less affected, if at all. You may cognitively, emotionally and viscerally feel better about your trauma, but your nervous system will still very likely be stuck in some degree of ‘fight or flight.’

How do we know this?
During the diagnostic phase of Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ certain objective measures of ‘fight or flight’ are made. People who have been previously treated with EMDR typically do not measure significantly differently than the average person seeking help. They may very well be functioning better because they are less sensitive to a precipitating trauma, but their nervous system’s shift into ‘fight or flight’ is still limiting their ability to function optimally overall.

Also, it is very important to understand that Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ does not focus on any single event or memory.

It is not light box therapy for SAD
In the shorter days of winter, some people become depressed due to the lack of sunlight, especially in more northern latitudes. This condition is called SAD for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Treatment involves a form of light therapy where patients sit in front of full-spectrum light boxes that mimic natural daylight.

This is a very different light therapy than Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ where, rather than sunlight, very specific frequencies of light are used, and the goals of therapy are totally different.

Interestingly though, since both are light therapies, there is very likely some overlap in the mechanism of how they work. Though it has not been shown
that artificial or natural daylight has an effect on ‘fight or flight’, many with SAD who have undergone Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ report a lessening or elimination of their symptoms.

It is not meditation or breathing exercises
For centuries, different forms of meditation and breathwork have been shown to be beneficial in reducing stress. The TM or Transcendental Meditation organization has done some very interesting research to support such claims. Dr. Herbert Benson has introduced a popular and simple technique called The Relaxation Response that can quickly produce a similar relaxing effect.

These are very effective techniques for reducing daily stress. Modern research supports age-old wisdom in using these excellent ways to calm
and create ease in our minds and bodies. When practiced regularly, these techniques can be life-changing.

But calming the nervous system is apparently very different than ‘tuning up’
the nervous system to function more efficiently.

Many people who have benefited from Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ have been long-time meditators. For the most part, they do not measure any differently on their ‘fight or flight’ diagnostic than anyone else (though they may respond to therapy somewhat quicker).

A holistic practitioner who has meditated for many years had a very interesting experience. During just the very first week of his
Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ he reported a calm and peace that he had never experienced in all his years of meditation. His wife (an EMDR practitioner) couldn’t believe the changes. He promptly referred half a dozen of his patients.