What is Fight or Flight?
Fight-or-flight is an automatic reaction of the autonomic nervous system, triggered by the hypothalamus, signaling the body that there is a threat and releasing adrenaline and cortisol, enabling us to either fight or flee a perceived threat. It is designed to keep us safe in emergencies. Fight or flight is the more well-known response, however, freezing and fawning are also highly effective and common responses in survival.
The stress response includes physical, behavioral and thought responses to our perception of various situations. While meant for imminent physical dangers (like stopping your younger sister from running in the street after a ball or dodging a car on the highway that inadvertently came into your lane), this system is often triggered by modern psychological stress, such as intense work stress, school stress, public speaking, an argument with a loved one, or other fear, and anxiety provoking events. It is designed to be a rapid, short-term survival mechanism lasting minutes to hours.
The fight or flight response is meant to protect you in moments, not control your body long term.
While designed to keep us safe, and survive, if we stay in this state for too long, it can lead to negative consequences such as significant health issues, chronic fatigue, sleep issues, digestive issues, chronic pain and even neurological changes such as increased emotional reactivity, memory changes and impaired cognition. Being in a perpetual state of fight or flight may also lead to, or exacerbate the symptoms of depression and anxiety and other mental health issues.
Let’s explore what physical, emotional and behavioral responses occur when our body goes into fight or flight.
Responses to Fight or Flight
Physical Responses
- Muscle aches
- Insomnia
- ↑ Heart rate
- Headache
- Weight gain
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Dry mouth
- Muscle twitching
- Weight loss
- Low energy
- Weakness
- Tight chest
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Trembling
- Stomach cramps
- Chills
- Hot flashes
- Sweating
- Pounding heart
- Choking feeling
- Chest pain
- Leg cramps
- Numb hands/feet
- Dry throat
- Appetite change
- Face flushing
- ↑ Blood pressure
- Light-headedness
- Feeling faint
- Trouble swallowing
- Rash ↑
- Urination
- Neck pain
- Tingling hands/feet
Emotional and Thought Responses
- Restlessness
- Agitation
- Insecurity
- Worthlessness
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Depression
- Hopelessness
- Guilt
- Defensiveness
- Anger
- Racing thoughts
- Nightmares
- Intense thinking
- Sensitivity
- Expecting the worst
- Numbness
- Lack of motivation
- Mood swings
- Forgetfulness
- ↓ Concentration
- Rigidity
- Preoccupation
- Intolerance
Behavioral Responses
- Avoidance
- Withdrawal
- Neglect
- ↑ Alcohol use
- Smoking
- ↑ Eating
- Arguing
- Poor appearance
- ↑ Spending
- Poor hygiene
- ↓ Eating
- Seeking reassurance
- Nail biting
- Skin picking
- ↑ Talking
- ↑ Body checking
- Sexual problems
- Foot tapping
- ↓ Exercise
- ↓ Fun activities
- Teeth clenching
- Seeking information
- Aggressive speaking
- ↓ ↑ Sleeping
- ↓ Relaxing activities
- Fidgeting
- Rapid walking
- Multitasking
Loss of Logic and Catastrophic Thinking
When in fight or flight, the brain thinks “worst case” scenario or catastrophically as it will prioritize safety over accuracy. When in fight or flight, there is a reduction of blood in the prefrontal cortex and sudden increase flow to the amygdala (threat detector), quickly shifting and shutting down rational, logical thought, allowing the brain to focus on immediate survival, fear responses and quick acting behaviors. We are hijacked cognitively for resources and can have cognitive distortions such as “all or nothing thinking”, potentially misconstruing perceived threats over actual threats.
Those struggling with sleep deprivation, substance and/or behavioral addictions, and other mental health issues are even more susceptible to the triggering of the fight or flight response, as all those events affect the neurological and central nervous system. Those with past traumatic experiences, especially those with posttraumatic stress disorder, have an even harder time differentiating between a past or perceived threat and a current, safe situation.
First Steps if Hijacked by Flight or Flight
Stop, Notice and Breathe
First thing to do when you feel an intense emotional and physical dysregulation in your body is to STOP and NOTICE. When you are mindful and aware, you can begin to work towards emotional regulation and homeostasis. Next, breathe! Take a huge belly breath in through your nose, imagining your belly has a balloon inside, expanding. I recommend breathing in to the count of 4, holding for a few seconds, then a long, slow exhale out through your mouth. Imagine you are breathing through a straw. I aim for about 8 seconds of exhale.
You can also try the physiological sigh, which is a rapid, two-part inhalation followed by a long, slow exhale, which very quickly reduces stress and anxiety by activating the parasympathetic nervous system and dumping carbon dioxide out of the body and resetting the nervous system.
Physiological Sigh:
Inhale 1: Take a deep breath in through your nose, filling the lungs.
Inhale 2: Before exhaling, take a second, shorter sip of air to fully expand the alveoli (lung sacs).
Exhale: Release a long, slow, extended breath through the mouth, by way of sigh.
Repeat 2-3 times
Grounding Technique, 5,4,3,2,1
Another technique that can be helpful to immediately work to reduce the effects of fight or flight, is “grounding.” When hijacked, we naturally feel the need to move our bodies, hence the term fight or flight. We then hyper-focus either externally (visually hyper focusing on the perceived threat) or internally (repetitive, intrusive, ruminating thoughts), resulting in a loss of peripheral vision, leading to catastrophic thoughts, and a poor ability to problem solve due to the neurological changes to the prefrontal cortex, as we discussed earlier. If you notice this is happening, first STOP, breathe and then work to ground yourself. Try the technique below:
5 Things I can see
4 Things I can touch
3 Things I can hear
2 Things I can smell
1 Thing I can taste
Physical Activity
When our body goes into fight or flight, we need to move our bodies. We must release the stored adrenaline and movements like walking, running, stretching, pushups or anything that will get your heart pumping are great ways to release the adrenaline and work towards homeostasis.
Cold Water Therapy
Splash very cold water on your face. This triggers the “mammalian dive reflex,” rapidly lowering heart rate. Cold water, particularly on the face and neck, stimulates the vagus nerve, which acts as a brake on the sympathetic nervous system, slowing the heart rate and inducing a “rest-and-digest” state.
Positive Self Talk and Intent
Notice the shift in your body and cognition, as you breathe, move your body and ground, you will notice the feeling of being more in control. Once you begin to regulate emotionally, continue to take deep breaths, consider saying a rehearsed mantra such as “I am in control, I am confident, I got this”.
Final Thoughts on Fear Provoking or Anxious Thoughts
One important thing to remember is, while anxiety and the fight or flight reaction are very present in the moment, they are more times than not, triggered by events from the past or future, not actual events in the moment. Anxious thoughts only reside in the future or past. When you are mindful and in the moment, you realize you are safe. If you are not, because of a true threat, trust your body will know what to do and work to listen to it and work with it, not against it. If you identify that you are not at imminent risk, work first towards emotional regulation and get the body back to a state of homeostasis by using the techniques above. The problem solving will come later, once the prefrontal cortex is back online. Learning to process stressful events is an essential part in learning how to effectively complete the stress cycle.
To learn more about Erica Nicolaus and her approach to supporting emotional and mental well-being, visit her About page. Her work focuses on helping individuals better understand and regulate their stress response.
