The Fight-or-Flight Response: How Our Brain Reacts to Threats
The brain is a complex organ that regulates many aspects of our physical and psychological well-being. It constantly processes information from our senses and the environment, and responds accordingly. However, when the brain perceives something as a potential threat, it activates a system that prepares us to stay and deal with the danger or run away to safety.
The Ancient Survival Mechanism
The term fight-or-flight comes from our ancient ancestors when they were faced with danger and had to choose; either fight or flee.
The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to the physiological reaction that occurs when we encounter something mentally or physically terrifying. Imagine facing a wild animal or an imminent danger - your body gears up for action.
Three Stages of Fight-or-Flight:
- Alarm Stage: During this stage, the central nervous system ramps up, preparing your body to fight or flee. The sympathetic nervous system activates, leading to increased heart rate, your blood pressure rises and breathing rate increases and becomes shallow. Hormones like adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol flood your system.
- Resistance Stage: Your body attempts to normalise and recover from the initial elevated fight-or-flight response - this happens in 3/1000 of a second in perceiving the threat, and we decide whether to confront the danger, freeze or flee. These changes to our body help us act appropriately and rapidly, usually, our body will return to its natural state after 20 to 60 minutes after the perceived threat has gone.
- Exhaustion Stage: If these stages occur repeatedly over time and there is a prolonged sense of danger you will experience ongoing stress and anxiety and risk developing physical and mental health problems.
You are probably already aware of the phrase Fight-or-Flight but there are 3 other survival reactions when we feel threatened, Freeze, Flop and Friend which make up our defensive fear responses - also known as the five F’s.
When faced with danger each of the five F’s has its own hope for a possible outcome, that is to stay alive and depending on the nature of the situation, each of these defences reduce our being a threat to our attacker.
Our active defences are to;
- Friend – to befriend our attacker in the hope of appeasing the situation
- Fight – physically and verbally responding to the threat - showing aggression
- Flight – to run away from the situation
Our passive defences are to;
- Freeze – in order to avoid detection or you ‘just froze’ and unable to shout or call for help
- Flop – to flop or feint; to minimise harm when you have no other option (as above) in the hope you will be left alone
In the modern world, that same mechanism can sometimes be triggered by everyday stressors or imagined threats. But understanding its origins can empower us to manage it more effectively. So, next time fear creeps in, take a deep breath, acknowledge it, and remember that your brain is doing its ancient job!