Fight Or Flight Theory

What he observed was adrenaline and glucocorticoids dictate the stress response. The physiological changes to the body during the stress response are the lungs work overtime to deliver oxygen to the bloodstream, and the heart races to pump oxygen throughout the body so muscles respond instantly. The blood pressure needs to go up to deliver energy. The body will turn off anything that is not essential at that moment. Examples

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

When put under stress, both humans and baboons have cortisol and adrenaline found in their blood. These hormones are critical for survival, and other physical changes in the body such as a racing heart, increased blood pressure, and quickly responding muscles are all present when the body is put under stress. However, in regard to humans, these same physical responses can occur when the body is not in a life in death situation. Instead, it is common for psychological stresses such as public speaking, taking a test, paying taxes, or driving a vehicle to invoke the same physiological responses as someone in a critical situation. This can be unhealthy for the human body, as many people can get worked up over multiple stressors in one day,

In Prospero 's case in Masque of the Red Death Prince Prospero, was faced with the threat of survival, surviving the Red Death, a plague sweeping his kingdom killing all it comes into contact with. To produce the fight-or-flight response, the hypothalamus activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system. The sympathetic nervous system uses nerve pathways to initiate reactions in the body, and the adrenal-cortical system uses the bloodstream. The combined effects of these two systems are the fight-or-flight response.When the hypothalamus tells the sympathetic nervous system to kick into gear, the overall effect is that the body speeds up, tenses up and becomes generally very alert. If there 's a burglar at the door, you 're going to have to take action fast. The sympathetic nervous system sends out impulses to glands and smooth muscles and tells the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream. These "stress hormones" cause several changes in the body, including an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.At the same time, the hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing factor into the pituitary gland, activating the adrenal-cortical system. The pituitary gland secretes the hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). ACTH moves through the bloodstream and ultimately arrives at the adrenal cortex, where it activates the release of approximately thirty different

Animals and Humans have a biological stress response intended to facilitate survival in the case of a life threatening attack or severe illness. This is commonly referred to the “fight or flight” response. Some primates, including humans have developed the unhealthy propensity to trigger this response for psychological or social reasons. Humans in particular experience the stress response exponentially more often for psychological reasons than for the purpose of survival (Stress, 2008). For example, we are may feel “stressed out” about work or school and if we think about it too much and get upset, we may experience a stress response Just by thinking about something that is bothering us, we can trigger the biological “fight or flight”

The fight-or-flight response is a very important reaction of the human body. It can help us decide whether a situation is suitable to fight back or flee for safety. In many ways the fight-or-flight response can be useful in a stressful setting that would be difficult to decide for ourselves. Think of it as a bodyguard, it protects you when your body is faced with a risky situation. Likewise, it can tell your brain if a setting is too dangerous to fight in and would be better to just run. The fight-or-flight response is a real thing and not an excuse to act cowardly in dangerous situations. Studies have proven extensive research done by Walter Cannon on the autonomic nervous system and noticeable side effects such as: the chills, increased

The Holocaust: A genocide in which six million Jews died, still remembered today as the single most grotesque massacre in human history. For most, the concept of Hitler’s rise to power, the building of his strength, and the process by which his orders were carried out remains an unimaginable concept. In the mind, laws of morality don’t bend. In looking at the Holocaust, one has to wonder how so many managed to break the rules of humanity so quickly. The easiest answer questions the existence of ethical laws at all. Although others consider the vast majority who did not fall victim to Hitler’s power to simply be better people, a consensus of Germany pre-war reveals that they were not miniature bigots.

Viewed from an evolutionary standpoint, in early times stress caused the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system resulting in an outpouring of the hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucocorticoids that were essential to the life-preserving fight or flight reactions of primitive man (Anthony 1988). However, the nature of stress for the individual today is different. It is only occasionally and unexpectedly that one is confronted with overwhelming, life-threatening stresses. Present stresses arise from everyday stresses of work, finances and school. The problem is that the body still continues to respond in the same fashion as primitive times. This makes the large release of hormones very harmful. They can cause an increase in blood pressure, damage muscle tissue, lead to infertility, inhibit growth, damage the hippocampus and suppress the immune system (Carlson 1994). It is therefore, important that individuals learn to control the stresses in their lives. The more detrimental coping behaviors will cause a larger change

“When this response is chronically activated, people can suffer from decreased immunity and other health problems” (Good). Many other health problems can also occur when people have fight or flight constantly. Those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) constantly live with the feeling of fight or flight. This can affect how they see normal stress throughout their day. Professionals work with people's mental health trying to allow them a harder trigger into the panic of a stressful situation, so get prescribed medical drugs to remain calm. The hypothalamus is a bit like a command center that controls the brain. It allows the brain to send signals through the nervous system throughout the body.Researcher at Harvard states, “While the amygdala sends a distress signal which can happen during work sudden deadline, or a persistent worry about losing a job can cause a mental shut down in the normal functions” (Harvard). it is most commonly found in humans, but humans are not the only things to use the fight or flight technique, animals and plants also take advantage of this

People deal with stressful situations differently. However, there is an obvious fear when someone suddenly encounters a frightening situation. The acute stress response is a sudden reaction of the body prompted by a psychological disturbance over a short period. Most psychologists refer to the condition as the fight-or-flight response. When a person experiences a sudden physical or mental scare, the response is very fast. A person might decide to fight back the terrifying element or to run away, which signifies the flight aspect of the response (Lee, 2004). By 1920, few people understand this concept until Walter Cannon tried to establish the reason why an adrenaline rush occurs when an individual encounters a distressing situation.

Chapter 6 covers the fundamentals of stress disorders. After reading this chapter discussing the fight and flight response, psychological stress disorders and physical stress disorders, I have a better concept of this subject itself. Our fight and flight response is trigger by our hypothalamus, which sends off neurons and chemical for our mind and bodies to react. As discussed in class, the autonomic nervous system control the involuntary activities like heartbeat and breathing. The sympathetic nervous system is aroused when we face danger (THE FIGHT). For example, the sympathetic nervous system makes our heart beat faster when we are scared. The parasympathetic nervous system (THE FLIGHT) help make us calm, like regulating our heartbeats.

Neil F Neimark M.D. a certified family physician says, “The "fight or flight response" is our body's primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival.” Which one are you? Would you become actively involved to fight the situation, or would you run away like a coward?

One of the oldest forms of survival is the fight or flight response. Numerous examples of outrageous feats performed by people can be found, but the most pure form can be found in those who still use it daily, and actually use it for survival. Animals utilize their fight or flight response to survive in nature, where a delay or lapse in judgement could result in their death.

The Flight or Fight theory and the GAS reflect that people only respond to the stimulus around them. Both of the models disregarded that there are psychological factors that deal with stress and that individuals interact with the stressors not just elicit a response from the stressors. A study that contradicts is the Lazarus transaction model of stress which claimed that certain stimuli cause stress based on the individual and how they perceive the stressor. Some may perceive a stimulus as stressful while someone else may not think the stimulus is stressful. Spiesman el al conducted a study in 1964 which looks at how participants appraise different situations. Participants were shown a film about genital surgery with three different soundtracks.

Humans experience similar dramatic physiological stress responses as other species. That is to say, the physique response to a stressor prepares the body for rapid physical action (fight or flight). More rarely, as Rudinger (1988) argue, sitting paralysed by fear may constitute another response to stress. The fight or flee stress response involve extremely rapid, virtually immediate, changes within the muscular systems and organs (Pinel, 2006).