Is Your LIFE A Constant FIGHT OR FLIGHT Response?
I’m so stressed out over being stressed out that I can’t even remember why I am stressed out.. and its stressing me out! Thats our reality these days.
Most of us are?Living in a Fight or Flight.. consumed by stress.
And usually what we’re creating our decisions from is our childhood pain or traumatic experiences. So usually our wounds are running the show and we don’t even know that or realise that and what we gotta do is become that space to see these wounds and love them, live them in the moment by crying out the pain and letting it out.. The pain in our downtimes can wake us up to a truth we’ve been ignoring. Pain has a purpose. Pain pushes until the vision pulls.
The?Fight-or-Flight?Response?(also known as the acute stress response), refers to a physiological reaction that occurs when we are in the presence of something that is mentally or physically terrifying. The fight-or-flight response is triggered by the release of hormones that prepare your body to either stay and deal with a threat or to run away to safety. The term "fight-or-flight" represents the choices that our ancient ancestors had when faced with danger in their environment. They could either fight or flee. In either case, the physiological and psychological response to stress prepares the body to react to the danger. But in that moment we forget that we have a responsibility: response-ability to go within.. be with ourselves and see things for what they are and not the threat we often perceive them to be.
Why Is It Important?
The fight-or-flight response plays a critical role in how we deal with stress and danger in our environment. When we are under threat, the response prepares the body to either fight or flee. While the response could be triggered by both real and imaginary threats,?the stress created by the situation can actually be helpful in making sure that you cope with the threat more effectively. And even though the fight-or-flight response happens automatically, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is always accurate. Sometimes we respond in this way even when there is no real threat. Phobias?are good examples of how the fight-or-flight response might be falsely triggered in the face of a perceived threat.
A person who is terrified of heights might experience an acute stress response if they have to go to the top floor of a skyscraper to attend a meeting. Their body might go on high alert, with their heartbeat and respiration rate increasing. If the response is severe, it can lead to a panic attack. Understanding the body's natural fight-or-flight response is one way to help cope with such situations. When you notice that you are becoming tense, you can start looking for ways to calm down and relax your body. Like deep breathing which is greatly helpful or looking up in the sky is another hack. Try the sky, don't just take my word for it ;)
We have 4 instinctive responses to the stimuli in the environment just like dogs-?Flight, Fight, Avoidance & Surrender
Flight Response- Its a form of resistance and you can recognise those indicators with the sudden butt slide to the back of the chair, the abrupt arm cross, the chin rest.. you’ve lost that person. Well they’re gonna be very disagreeable.?
Fight Response- Is a form of posturing and most of us recognise those indicators- the scrunching up of the face, puffing up the face and cocking around like a rooster. But they’re also power moves, the super hero stance, the siri cobra pose, the purpose is to look bigger and more powerful to ward off your opponents.?
Avoidance- The indicators here are very similar to the canines and humans- Imagine this- No direct eye contact, looking away or down, basically closed off. We’ve all noticed this with our pets but its applicable to us too
Surrender- Neutral stance, Standing tall, relaxed, inviting
Makes sense doesn’t it? You have witnessed these indicators or even exhibited to get your silent message across. Non-verbal communication determines how we interact & perceive with each other. It impacts every aspect of our lives from relationships to social interactions and careers.
Think of the things that we deal with over and over again. Even when we’re (our bodies) not doing anything, our minds are doing this extra thinking- dealing with all this panic all day, dealing with things like what are they gonna say about me, I am not enough. This is something we could’ve dealt with one or may be two times but how many times do we keep replaying things with an ex or in our current relationship or even situationship or.. with our parents, or things we are embarrassed about.. You know if you stay embarrassed about something, every time you think of it, it just happened again to your body. So your body is rethinking of the time that you did something so embarrassing. It could’ve happened just once but it happens every time you think about it, so your body goes into fight or flight because you’re thinking about it, so it thinks that you’re in that same situation that’s embarrassing so its re-adrenalising and trying to save your life from something that’s not even actually happening.?Stop giving CPR to dead situations.
Right now Everybody’s nervous system is in fight or flight mode. If you feel constantly stressed out or exhausted, you can’t focus, you’re on the edge waiting for the other shoe to drop. And honestly, what we’ve just lived through.. from 2020- to-date (2022 = 2020 too).. Human body is not built to sustain that level of uncertainty. We need to learn to flip off our fight or flight nervous system and flip on our natural peace, calm and a cool nervous system. We’ve reached a stage to just throw in the towel and say I can’t handle this anymore. I like how Mel Robbins said how our nervous system has done the equivalent of us sitting in our car in Parking mode and flooring the gas.. Stress in our nervous system has been revved for almost 2 years now.?
Have you ever lost control of your emotions and did something in the heat of the moment that you later regretted? Perhaps you've "lost it" or blown up at someone- your partner or child, work colleague, or perhaps the driver of another car or.. a friend- to such a degree that later, you realized was uncalled for… If your answer is yes, then you've probably been hijacked by your amygdala. (the “emotional brain”)
While the amygdala is intended to protect us from danger, it can interfere with our functioning in the modern world where threats are often more subtle in nature.?
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When you see, hear, touch, or taste something, that sensory information first heads to the thalamus- a brain organ that regulates consciousness and thalamus acts as your brain's relay station. The thalamus then relays that information to the neocortex (the “thinking brain”). From there, it is sent to the amygdala (the “emotional brain”) which produces the appropriate emotional response.
However, when faced with a threatening situation, the thalamus sends sensory information to both the amygdala and the neocortex. If the amygdala senses danger, it makes a split-second decision to initiate the fight-or-flight response before the neocortex (the “thinking brain”) has time to overrule it. This cascade of events triggers the release of stress hormones.?
A person in fight or flight may feel extremely alert, agitated, confrontational, or like they need to leave the room or location. A severe fight or flight response can even become a panic attack.?
Recovery
It takes around 20-60 minutes for the body return to its normal state after the stress response becomes activated. Afterward, a person may feel tired, achy, or have some lingering anxiety. Generally, it is a good idea to do things that feel safe and restful at the time. Self-care is important during times of stress: Like eating regular, balanced, and nutritious meals, drinking enough water, taking breaks, especially from things or even people that add to stress. getting regular exercise or doing yoga and pranayama, getting enough sleep, making time for relaxation & enjoyable activities and connecting with others that uplift your being.
The Philosophical Stance..
-You’re not scared of the dark, you’re scared of what’s in it
-You’re not afraid of heights, you’re afraid of falling
-You’re not afraid of the people around you, you’re just afraid of being judged perhaps
-You’re not afraid to love, you’re just afraid of not being loved back
-You’re not afraid to let go, you’re just afraid to accept the reality that its gone
-You’re not afraid to try again, you’re just afraid of getting hurt for the same reason
Life is a constant learning school for the soul. Our biggest struggle is often accepting what IS. Life throws us tests first and we learn the lessons later and life lessons are a mix of good and bad and the contrast is what makes us appreciate the good even more. We are built with tremendous courage to face any situation and courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put aside your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger born from fear. Courage is about using your brain and your heart when every cell of your body is screaming at you to fight or flee - and then following through on what you believe is the right thing to do.
The curveball of life is that destiny or fate might not fit the scenario that?you?had in mind. But that doesn’t mean you obliterate yourself with negative thoughts or responses thereof, rather obliterate the negative thoughts. The struggle is there to change you, not destroy you. Trust the process
Just like a movie scene.. it's not real, change the movie and that trauma and pain will lose its power over you. Make that shift in thinking and what you’re thinking will shift.