Fight or Flight Response

• When someone enters a potentially stressful or dangerous situation, the amygdala, which is part of the limbic system is activated.
• The amygdala responds to sensory input (what we see, hear, smell, etc.) and connects this with emotions associated with the fight or flight response (e.g. fear and anger).
• If a situation is seen as stressful/ dangerous, the amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, which communicates with the body through the SNS.
• If a stressful or dangerous situation requires a short-term response the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM pathway) is activated, triggering the fight or flight response.
• Following the fight or flight response, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is activated to return the body back to its ‘normal’ resting state.
• The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) are activated during the fight or flight response.
• The parasympathetic nervous system slows down our heart rate and breathing rate and reduces our blood pressure.
• When faced with a dangerous situation our reaction is not limited to the fight or flight response; some psychologists suggest that humans engage in an initial ‘freeze’ response.
• Gray (1988) suggests that the first response to danger is to avoid confrontation altogether, which is demonstrated by a freeze response.
• The main hormone involved in the fight or flight process is adrenaline which is released from the adrenal gland.
• Even though the fight-or-flight response is very good at preparing the body to deal with threats or stresses, it also has negative consequences on the body.
• The fight-or-flight response is thought to have evolved as a survival mechanism to help our ancestors deal with threats.
• Cortisol (stress hormone) can also have a negative impact on the human body.
• Adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body like increased heart rate, which creates a state of arousal necessary for the fight or flight.
• The parasympathetic nervous system acts like a brake and reduces physiological arousal brought on by the sympathetic nervous system.
• Fight or flight response.