What is Our Defense Mechanism Against Danger
When a person faces a stressor, the sympathetic nervous system, part of the autonomic nervous system, kicks in. This leads to the fight, flight, or freeze response. During this response, the body undergoes various physical and chemical changes, preparing the individual to either confront, escape, or remain still in the face of danger.
Stress often brings to mind feelings of tension, anxiety, and conflict; however, the fundamental concept of stress refers to outside events and conditions that impact an individual. Stress leads to a range of psychological and physiological changes in humans.
Walter Cannon explored the connection between stress and the neuroendocrine system, and he was the first to describe the fight or flight response through his research. He believed that all living beings possess the ability to heal themselves.
The body's reaction during this healing effort is termed the fight or flight response, which is an involuntary and basic reaction that aids humans and animals when they encounter a stressor briefly.
The fight or flight response, also known as the acute stress response, is a series of reactions. In the initial stage of this response, an organism demonstrates various reactions to protect itself from perceived danger. This allows the organism to confront or escape the threat by showing specific physical symptoms.
For example, early humans fleeing from threats or predators illustrate the fight or flight or freeze response. In everyday life, individuals escaping from imminent danger or confronting stressors showcases this response. The situation where a rabbit freezes upon seeing car headlights perfectly represents the freeze response.
What Happens to the Body During Fight, Flight, or Freeze? The acute stress response is crucial for human survival and has played a significant role in the adaptation and development of our species.
During this response, the body undergoes numerous physiological changes. The autonomic nervous system, which prepares the body to fight or flee, controls these changes.
The Autonomic Nervous System in the Fight-Flight-Freeze Response This system manages organ functions and involuntary actions in the body. It regulates processes like breathing, heart rate, sweating, and gland activity without conscious control.
The fight or flight response starts with a signal from the amygdala, which is the brain area responsible for managing emotions and identifying fear. Following this signal, the amygdala alerts the hypothalamus, activating the autonomic nervous system and launching the fight or flight response.
The autonomic nervous system operates independently of conscious thought and governs all organ functions. It consists of two primary parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.