The Fight or Flight Response -
What is Happening to Me?

The Fight or Flight Response Explained

Instinct Rules

Many years ago, when our ancestors lived in caves, their continued existence was utterly dependent on how well they read and responded to danger. Those methods for recognition and response to threat were literally hot-wired into their systems. They have been passed down through generation after generation and underpin the reactions to danger we experience today.

The fight or flight response is automatic and by-passes the rational or conscious mind. We do NOT consciously choose to feel threatened or suffer anxiety. It is an instinctive response, happening unconsciously, of its own accord.

Chemical Alert

What happens at a physiological level is that once the response is stimulated, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus sets off a series of actions preparing the body for either battle (facing the danger) or running (escaping the threat).

Chemicals such as adrenalin, noradrenalin and cortisol are released into the bloodstream and complex patterns of nerve cell firing occur. Our body is put on a state of high alert. Our breathing and heart rate quickens. Our muscles are tightened. We become hyper-vigilant and sensitive and our body’s entire focus becomes repelling the threat.

Bodily functions deemed non-essential are slowed down as the energy keeping them in optimum functioning condition is temporarily refocused elsewhere. Because you don’t usually stop to either make a speech or grab something to eat while fighting or running for your life, the systems governing digestion or voice are affected. The degree to which we feel challenged directly corresponds to the loss of functioning we experience. The symptoms range from mild to severe accordingly.

No-Mind

What is important to remember about our fight or flight response, is that it doesn’t have a mind. It is NOT a rational reaction. We do not select the circumstances triggering it into action. It works regardless of the type of threat. In other words it is activated whether the threat is perceived (only in our minds) or real.

Positively Heroic

It can work positively allowing ordinary people to become heroes. For example the massive surge of adrenalin and allied stress hormones will enable a mother to lift a car off her injured and trapped child or the fireman to rescue people from a blazing building. Once the danger is passed the body returns to normal.

Or Definitively Negative

Or the fight or flight response can work negatively and against us. In these instances we perceive challenges in our everyday life as threats and react accordingly. Constantly living in a state of heightened anxiety or fear causes significant emotional, mental and physical health problems.

If this is you, the suggestions here for overcoming public speaking fear will be a good starting point.

If you're reading this page on behalf of a child, you'll be interested in suggestions on how to boost and sustain their confidence through Speech & Drama exercises. Click the link for self esteem builders for children. They are especially chosen for children between kindergarten and approx. 8-9 yrs.old. However if your child falls outside those age groups, read anyway. You will pick up ideas you can adapt and positively apply. They're guaranteed to get you and your child smiling!

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