Which nervous system is fight or flight

Your heart rate gets faster, which increases oxygen flow to your major muscles. Your pain perception drops, and your hearing sharpens. These changes help you act appropriately and rapidly. Freezing is fight-or-flight on hold, where you further prepare to protect yourself.

It involves similar physiological changes, but instead, you stay completely still and get ready for the next move. The reaction begins in your amygdala , the part of your brain responsible for perceived fear.

The amygdala responds by sending signals to the hypothalamus , which stimulates the autonomic nervous system ANS. The ANS consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system drives the fight-or-flight response, while the parasympathetic nervous system drives freezing. How you react depends on which system dominates the response at the time. In general, when your ANS is stimulated, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol , the stress hormone.

These hormones are released very quickly, which can affect your:. Your specific physiological reactions depend on how you usually respond to stress. You might also shift between fight-or-flight and freezing, but this is very difficult to control. Perceived threats are different for each person. By priming your body for action, you are better prepared to perform under pressure. The stress created by the situation can actually be helpful, making it more likely that you will cope effectively with the threat.

This type of stress can help you perform better in situations where you are under pressure to do well, such as at work or school.

And in cases where the threat is life-threatening, the fight-or-flight response plays a critical role in your survival. By gearing you up to fight or flee, the fight-or-flight response makes it more likely that you will survive the danger. While the fight-or-flight response happens automatically, that doesn't 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. The stress response is one of the major topics studied in the rapidly-growing field of health psychology. Health psychologists are interested in helping people find ways to combat stress and live healthier, more productive lives. By learning more about the fight-or-flight response, psychologists can help people explore new ways to deal with their natural reaction to stress.

Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Goldstein DS. Adrenal responses to stress. Cell Mol Neurobiol. Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function. Your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for how your body reacts to danger and is responsible for the fight or flight response. Think of it like a generator — making sure everything from your body temperature to your water intake is functioning smoothly.

Your parasympathetic nervous system makes sure things are balanced. It works to relax you and helps conserve and restore energy. You need your sympathetic nervous system to keep you alive when true danger is detected and you need your parasympathetic nervous system to restore and relax you so that your body can run business as usual.

Work, bills, kids, your marriage , finances and health are some of the biggest non-life threatening stressors. This can also happen with work or strained relationships. The next thing you know, your fight or flight response is falsely activated, putting you in a state of chronic stress.

Fisher says stress management is critical to overall health. Essentially, the response prepares the body to either fight or flee the threat. It is also important to note that the response can be triggered due to both real and imaginary threats. By priming your body for action, you are better prepared to perform under pressure. The stress created by the situation can actually be helpful, making it more likely that you will cope effectively with the threat.

This type of stress can help you perform better in situations where you are under pressure to do well, such as at work or school.