We've all experienced it in one way or another. The kid being bullied in the playground, his heart racing and his hands shaking, time seemingly slowing down for him as he throws a wild hay-maker at the bullies; or being chased by the vicious dog from next door, you feel as if you could have given Usain Bolt a run for his money. How about the stories of people ripping off car doors at the hinge to save a loved one from a car wreck? These scenarios are all linked by a survival response passed down to us by some of our earliest ancestors. This response is most commonly known as the "Fight or Flight" response.
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The "Fight or Flight" response is the human bodies emergency reaction to grave danger. Once the body is threatened, a chain reaction occurs designed to prime it ready for fighting/fleeing the immediate danger. Once a imminent threat as been identified, the sympathetic nervous system sends a signal down to the adrenal glands situated at the top of the kidneys. This causes the glands to release adrenaline (also known as epinephrine), norepinephrine and cortisol into the blood stream. From here several systems are pressed into action. Glucose is released into the blood stream from the kidney ready to supply energy, The heart rate speeds up, increasing blood pressure to insure that all necessary functions have an ample supply. Pupils dilate and tunnel vision occurs, there is a momentary loss of hearing (think about the last time you experienced this, can you remember any sounds?). In effect, all power is routed to the bodily functions that give you the best chance of confronting or escaping the potential danger, with those not needed being reduced dramatically or switched off. This involuntary priming of your physiological survival functions happens in an estimated 1/100th of a second!
This subconscious survival reaction has played a large part in the survival and evolution of our species. From helping our ancestors to escape the predators of their time, through to giving them the ability to fight for and defend their food. In more modern times this response can be used to explain some of the more incredulous stories of human feats of strength when faced with tragedy.
In later posts we shall look a closer at this phenomenon and discuss some of the good and bad effects of this most primal of responses.
- Cannon, Walter B (1936). Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage.
- Henry Gleitman, Alan J. Fridlund and Daniel Reisberg (2004). Psychology (6 ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.
