Fight or Fright Reaction and Stress.
Consider these three different scenarios.
Recession is making life difficult for a sales rep. The last three months sales were disastrous. He is due to meet an important, big new client who could be his saviour. The ouicome will decide whether he still has a job or not.
A man is madly and desperately in love with this attractive and popular woman. To him there is no future without her but there are other men trying to attract her attention. The table is set for two, the ring is in his hand and the red roses lie near by. She is due any minute and he will go down on his knees and and he does not know what her answer will be.
A woman walking home alone late at night. The street is dimly lit. Suddenly she hears footsteps ahead of her. A group of people wearing hoodies is walking towards her. She now hears footsteps behind her. She turns around to see a group of youths walking towards her.
Although there is potential danger in only one scenario, a person becomes very focussed and alert. The body goes into the fight and fright reaction.
The fight or fright reaction protect us from life threatening dangers. The hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisone are released during the reaction.These hormones cause a remarkable change in the body.
The breathing becomes faster and deeper, the heart speeds up, the pupils dilate, the mouth becomes dry, the skin becomes cold and clammy and hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
You may have an urge to urinate, open your bowels or vomit. This is the brain trying to make you lighter and move faster during ‘flight’.
These changes are preparing the body for action. You are in a state of heightened awareness. All your senses are sharpened. Your sense of smell, sight and hearing are all sharpened. Your body is now functioning at it optimum.
Your heart, beating faster pumps extra blood to the brain and the muscles. By breathing faster and deeper, more oxygen is transported by the blood to the muscles and brain. In addition blood is shunted away temporarily from other important organs such as the kidneys, immune system and the gut to make more blood available to supply the muscles.
The fight and fright reaction is primeval, developed in early humans to survive amongst dangerous reptiles and mammals. Unfortunately the brain cannot differentiate between real and percieved dangers or threats. The reaction is the same.
In all three scenarios above, the fight or fright reaction is triggered.
Panic attacks are in reality fright or fright reactions and, during an attack, to the individual the danger or threat is very real. Rationality suddenly disappear and there is no where to run to or no one to fight.
In stress, even though there is no threat to our lives, the fight or fright reaction is triggered and can harm the body. Persistent stress caqn cause disease.
Knowing the effects of the fight or fright reaction on stress will help you make some sense about the symptoms of stress you experience with stress.