Back in the 1930’s, Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon was the first to coin
the term ‘fight or flight.’ He used it to describe our innate defense mechanism in the face of a threat or danger.

The classic example of this is primitive man’s physiological response to sensing a tiger in the trees. This imminent danger triggers subconscious reflexes that immediately recruit his resources in an attempt to insure his survival. His body prepares to fight to the death or flee for his life.

Adrenaline and other hormones, like cortisol, are released into his bloodstream. The liver releases stored sugar for an immediate energy boost. Blood flow increases to his brain, heart, lungs and large muscles (at the expense of lower priority functions like digestion, etc). His heart beats faster and his blood pressure rises. His breathing becomes more shallow and rapid to obtain more oxygen. Perspiration increases to keep his body cool. His senses become heightened and his pupils dilate to let in more light. His vision tunes out extraneous peripheral information so he can focus on the tiger, or zero in on his escape route. His muscles become tensed, ready to fight or flee.

Stage 1: The Alarm Reaction
First is the ‘alarm reaction.’ We are all familiar with the heightened reaction
we feel when we’ve narrowly avoided a traffic accident, or the nervous anxiety that consumes us before taking a test or speaking in public. All those primitive reflexes kick in, from the sweaty palms and goose bumps, to the quivering tense muscles and shortness of breath. No, there’s no tiger in the audience, but according to our nervous systems, there might as well be.

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Stage 2: The Stage of Resistance

It now appears that most of us are walking around in this stage.

We get stuck in this stage when stress occurs over a length of time.
Most would agree life is already stressful before even considering some of the high-stress challenges we must endure. Intense situations like demanding jobs, rigorous schooling, long-term troubled or dysfunctional relationships, prolonged illnesses or auto accident rehabilitation.

To survive, we somehow find a balance or equilibrium that allows us to function day after day under the pressure. The surge of the alarm reaction
is dampened, but our engines are constantly idling in a perpetual low-level ‘fight or flight.’

In order to cope, we subconsciously redefine this continually stressed state as ‘normal,' …despite the negative consequences of the constant drain on our system.

As world-renowned researcher Bruce McEwen warns in his book ‘The End of Stress as We Know It,’ “stress protects under acute conditions, but when activated chronically it can cause damage and accelerate disease.”

As this process repeats itself though life, the cumulative effect can be dramatic. We do the best we can, but inevitably we find ourselves functioning less efficiently, usually well below our true capabilities. Without major lifestyle changes, over time we gradually become more and more susceptible to various stress-related illnesses.

And unfortunately, "we carry our stress with us for a lifetime.” This is how
J. Douglas Bremner opens his book, ‘Does Stress Damage the Brain?’ He goes on to clearly demonstrate how our “short-term survival response can be at the expense of long-term function,” ultimately causing permanent damage in our brains, our bodies and our psyches.

In his book ‘Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,’ Robert Sapolsky presents evidence that it’s not the depletion or exhaustion but the stress response itself that ultimately causes the body to break down.

As he clearly points out, "If you repeatedly turn on the stress-response, or if you cannot appropriately turn (it) off at the end of a stressful event, the stress-response can eventually become nearly as damaging as (the) stressors themselves. A large percentage of what we think of (as) stress-related diseases are disorders of excessive stress-response."

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There are wide-ranging physical, psychological and behavioral symptoms of being stuck in ‘fight or flight.’

Many people clearly see that they are functioning differently after some stressful or traumatic period or event. They know their symptoms arose from their job, divorce, auto accident, troubled relationship, illness, etc.

But most of us have no idea we are functioning in ‘fight or flight,'…

…especially when there is no ‘before and after’ frame of reference. Sometimes symptoms develop so gradually that they are not always associated with the stress or trauma that might have precipitated them.
Or when stress occurs over a long enough period of time (or from an early age), frequently there is no recognition that performance has suffered.

Often there is recognition, but no accurate explanation. Usually we find other things to blame, like age or fatigue. We rationalize we’re just doing the best we can.

Symptoms

"When our nervous system goes into overdrive, the result is overproduction of 'warrior hormones' and underproduction of other hormones...critical to our health and happiness" (Cherewatenko and Perry, 'The Stress Cure').

Early on, symptoms can be very subtle. Many people experience varying degrees of emotional or behavioral difficulties, such as reduced focus and concentration, difficulty handling stress, feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, depression, fear and overwhelm, just to name a few.

They may have trouble thinking clearly or have difficulty with memory or other cognitive functions. They may tend to be more reactive, overly sensitive or defensive. Performing everyday tasks like driving and reading can become less comfortable or efficient.

Often their perspective becomes narrowed, limiting their ability to see the ‘big picture’ (especially about themselves) …and much, much more.

The physical response can also be very subtle initially, but in the more obvious instances symptoms often mirror chronic versions of the acute reaction to seeing that tiger in the trees (see What is Fight or Flight?):

As you can imagine, when long-term, these effects can ultimately manifest in any number of physical anomalies.

Now there is help!
Click here to learn how Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™ can help you!

Take The Quiz!

Click here to Take The Quiz!
The Quiz is a sampling of symptoms common to people stuck in ‘fight or flight.’ This is an abbreviated version of a screening questionnaire we use in Fight or FLIGHT THERAPY™.

See how many symptoms you have. You might be surprised...
…or maybe it will confirm what you already suspect.