Fight, Flight or Fright
Fight, Flight or Fright
Having gone through a period of anxiety and having got over the worst of it, I decided to have a word with my doctor to see what had put me in the position of going through what I would have described as one of the most uncomfortable times of my life.
He began by telling me a bit about our ancestors and the make up of the human body.
Let us consider why stress occurs.
The fact is, the stress response is found in most animals and dates back to prehistoric times when our caveman ancestors led a very dangerous life.
They always had to be ready to defend themselves against wild animals, to protect their families or defend their territories.
Faced with a threat, our caveman ancestor could respond in two ways.
They could stand their ground and fight the danger. Or they could turn and run away from the impending danger.
Their bodies would respond so that they could engage in the fight or flight response.
I was starting to understand some of what the doctor was telling me, but how did I end up in the situation that I did by going through what can only be described as a rough time.
The doctor continued to tell me of the effects that stress has to the body and how our nervous system's come into play to help us through the problem.
In order to understand what you went through you need to understand what your body is doing.
We need to think and move very quickly. The body needs more oxygen in organs such as the heart, brain, lungs and the muscles. Other organs such as the stomach the genitals and the skin can delay their tasks until the danger is over.
Faced with danger the body produces adrenaline and similar hormones which sends messages via the nervous system from the brain, this is what gives the physical effects that are very unpleasant at the time.
We have to become more alert, our muscles become tensed up and ready to react. This is so we can think faster, our arms and legs are ready to fight or run away.
This is why doctors call it the fight or flight response.
If we go back to our ancestors for a second we will understand why their survival in the wild depended on the fight or flight response and why it is still part of the make up in the human body.
When we encounter a threat or a stressful situation our bodies respond in the same way as our ancestors did.
The adrenaline flows, the blood and oxygen circulates faster, and our sugars are broken down for energy.
We are now ready for the fight or flight response.
I was now beginning to understand some of what the doctor was telling me, but again I was not too sure what my ancestors had to do with me going through the stress that I went through.
It's true, I was having a problem at my work that was taking a long time to sort out, but lots of people have problems at work, so why should I suffer anxiety?
My doctor continued to explain that I was not the only person to go through the problem of anxiety and that the problem is more common than what I thought it was.
Anxiety is a 'High that people get when they are angry, they have gone into the fighting mode and are ready to fight, but it's normally over in a short period of time. It's over once you've had your row and settled down again.
The longer a problem goes on the more it will drag you down.
Eventually you may go into what they call the flight response, and this can cause you depression for awhile.
It may be that you feel bad at not being able to sort out the problem in the fashion you would have liked to.
Our ancestors would have solved their problem at the time by using a club and running away, but as time has moved on and we have become more civilised, we have had to give up the use of violence towards each other.
We have to sort our problems out in a more civilised way, but our bodies still react the same way as our ancestors did, but the club has gone.
Our bodies are not being used in the way they were intended to be used.
We get tensed up and we have no outlet for this energy.
If it continues for any length of time we may feel a number of unpleasant symptoms happening to our body.
That's because we are not used to them.
The fight or flight response is still a very important part of the human body, it helps to protect us from any impending danger.
People who have been involved in an accident or a fight will tell you how quickly they reacted to the danger at the time, but the stress response is often inappropriate for today's modern living.
The modern day creates it's own problems with stress, such as marriage breakdowns, problems at work, housing, unemployment and whole host of other things that can be very stressful.
It's up to us to learn how to cope with the problem should it arise.
I asked my doctor what was the best way to cope with anxiety or depression, and what kind of people were liable to get it.
Is there a certain class of people? Is there an age for getting it? And could I have prevented myself from getting anxiety?
He started by saying there was no particular class of people who are more liable to get it than any other, it can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter if you're rich, poor, tall, slim or small, it has no class barrier, it happens to anyone.
But we can help prevent ourselves from suffering either anxiety or depression by learning how to relax and by exercising.
There are many forms of relaxation for you to learn. You can learn to meditate or listen to a relaxation tape that is made especially for the purpose of relaxation.
At the end of the day, it's up to the individual to decide what is the best program for them, but it can be done given the time.
We can overcome the problem if we really want to he continued, some people may even find that by going to a day centre once or twice a week could be of help to themselves.
Sitting in your house day after day can create anxiety or depression and you do need to get away from that situation, so meeting other people who have gone through a similar problem as yourself may help you understand what you went through.
You had a fright at the effects and feelings of your own nervous system, you went into fighting mode and because you weren't getting anywhere fast you went into a slight depression you then took fright at what your body was experiencing. But you have no need to be afraid of your own body.
I am quite sure you can learn to cope with your anxiety. But a lot of it has to be your own determination.
You can learn how to relax, you can start doing exercises such as walking and going to the gym.
He ended by saying to me, "I am very confident you won't go through anxiety or depression again if you continue to do what you're doing".
You have had to learn the hard way but as you will know in the future, anything can be overcome with a little bit of determination.
Fight, Flight or Fright written by Andrew Murphy 28 June 1993
The fight or flight response of the human
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