Fight or Flight System: The System That Is The Source Of Panic And Anxiety
Matt Collins asked:
The biological mechanism responsible for your anxiety and/or panic attacks is the fight or flight system. This is the chemical and physical phenomena that is actually occurring in your body and is responsible for the way emotions interact with your biology.
You see, during the course of our evolution as humans, fighting or running away (flight) has helped us survive in some way. Let’s imagine for a moment that during a hunt for food you encounter a predator, maybe a bear or lion. The instinctual reaction would have been one or several of the following:
Flushing or turning pale
Relaxation of your bladder
Shaking
Increasing heart rate (with possible palpitations)
Increased rate of respiration (possibly leading to hyperventilation and subsequently dizziness)
Evacuation of your colon (leading to stomach ache, diarrhea)
Stopping of intestinal muscles (accompanied by stomach pains, nausea)
Stopping of tears and salivation (accompanied by dry mouth)
Inability for erection (situational impotency)
Do any of these reactions sound familiar to you? This is your fight or flight system in action. All of the above reactions would have helped you either fight or get away from some threat to your life.
Now you may say, ”But I’ve never encountered a bear or a lion!” But what you must realize is that the threat level is perceived to be at the same level as losing your life.
You see, the fight or flight system responds not only to an actual physical danger, but any danger to the ego or self-esteem, as well. Why? Somewhere deep inside your subconscious you believe that danger to the ego or self-esteem will cause damage to your physical body. You believe that an embarrassing situation would lead to banishment from your peers, a definite threat to the body if your survival depends on these peers.
A remedy for such a situation would be to be completely self-dependent on your survival. Another would be to learn some relaxation techniques so you are better at coping with panic attacks.
But if you wanted to kill every bird with one stone, you need to look for an all-in-one solution.
The biological mechanism responsible for your anxiety and/or panic attacks is the fight or flight system. This is the chemical and physical phenomena that is actually occurring in your body and is responsible for the way emotions interact with your biology.
You see, during the course of our evolution as humans, fighting or running away (flight) has helped us survive in some way. Let’s imagine for a moment that during a hunt for food you encounter a predator, maybe a bear or lion. The instinctual reaction would have been one or several of the following:
Flushing or turning pale
Relaxation of your bladder
Shaking
Increasing heart rate (with possible palpitations)
Increased rate of respiration (possibly leading to hyperventilation and subsequently dizziness)
Evacuation of your colon (leading to stomach ache, diarrhea)
Stopping of intestinal muscles (accompanied by stomach pains, nausea)
Stopping of tears and salivation (accompanied by dry mouth)
Inability for erection (situational impotency)
Do any of these reactions sound familiar to you? This is your fight or flight system in action. All of the above reactions would have helped you either fight or get away from some threat to your life.
Now you may say, ”But I’ve never encountered a bear or a lion!” But what you must realize is that the threat level is perceived to be at the same level as losing your life.
You see, the fight or flight system responds not only to an actual physical danger, but any danger to the ego or self-esteem, as well. Why? Somewhere deep inside your subconscious you believe that danger to the ego or self-esteem will cause damage to your physical body. You believe that an embarrassing situation would lead to banishment from your peers, a definite threat to the body if your survival depends on these peers.
A remedy for such a situation would be to be completely self-dependent on your survival. Another would be to learn some relaxation techniques so you are better at coping with panic attacks.
But if you wanted to kill every bird with one stone, you need to look for an all-in-one solution.
on June 22nd 2009 in Mental Health