Flight Or Fight Model Essay

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.

There are three different theories that are used when talking about how we react to stress through the physiological aspect or the psychological aspect. The first is part of the physiological aspect of stress called the Cannon Fight or Flight theory which was proposed in 1914. Fight or Flight response is a physiological stress response that evolved to help organisms to survive immediate danger. The theory states that when an organism, human being or animal, faces imminent danger (acute stressor) the body arouses quickly and is ready to act via two different systems. They are the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla which is part of the endocrine system and is the region that produces the hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones increase heart rate, blood flow, and glucose levels to prepare the body for an emergency. This response from the body suggests that the body knows how to protect itself and reach homeostasis. These two systems work together to either fight against the danger or flight away from the danger. Lord, King and Pfister in 1976 studied the Fight or Flight response in animals through a very unethical study. They administered chemicals on male hooded Wistar rats which inhibited the neurotransmitters from functioning normally. This made it very difficult for the rats to escape an electric shock. The results of the study suggest that the Flight or Fight response

The human body reacts externally or internally in the way of physiological responses. When we experience one of these stressors the physiological responses job is to prepare the body to deal either by adapting to it or simply surviving it. This can promote a functional alteration in the organs normal function.

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,

The fight or flight instinct does not allow time to process anything new. Our brains become focused on the object or event that is causing the body to undergo stress.

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”

There are many symptoms associated with the physiological responses of the fight-or-flight including dilation of pupils, increased and more rapid heart rate, and acceleration in the respiratory system. The fight-or-flight response is a very important and crucial response both mentally and physically that is a building block for the human body. Without it, humans may not be as adapted to the dangerous and stressful environment we call our world. Finally, to summarize the steps of the fight-or-flight response. First, a threat or stimuli are perceived by the retina and signals are sent to the brain. Next, the brain processes the signals and determines whether the threat is real. Then, the adrenal medulla is sent synapses from the cerebrum and secretes a liquid with high levels of adrenaline called epinephrine. After that, the secreted adrenaline is mixed with glucose. Next, the adrenaline and glucose are rushed throughout the bloodstream and to the muscles. The muscles then tense up and are given an extra boost of strength and speed. Lastly, the muscles are used to either fight or

Vasoconstriction- The sympathetic nervous system on the brain causes the heart rate to increase making your veins constrict. This is called vasoconstriction and the blood flow will be directed right to the muscle to help it work harder. Temperature increases to help the flow of blood around the body. Your reflexes will be quicker and your muscles tense. This facilitates the blood carrying oxygen and removing waste products.

Once your brain has decided there’s a danger, in stressful situations, it sends immediate nerve signals down your spinal cord to the pituitary gland and all the ways to the kidneys where your adrenal gland resides, which is how adrenaline is released. Once released, adrenaline increases the amount of sugar in your blood, increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure. The brain’s hypothalamus also sends signals to your pituitary gland, which allows the body to release Cortisol: Cortisol is a stress response that allows the blood and sugar pressure to remain high, which helps when escaping from danger. For instance, in an interview, which presents a challenge, simulated the same biological reaction that a threat to your life does.

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.

Dr. Karen E. Peterson is a psychologist, novelist, public speaker (with extensive media experience), and a former university writing instructor (with a M.A. in English) (2006) and Rosanne Bane (2012; Rosanne) is a creativity coach, veteran teaching artist, speaker and author. She taught artist for more than 20 years at the Loft Literary Center, StoryStudio, University of St. Thomas, University of Minnesota and other places. She has helped thousands of writers, artists and creative people of all sorts achieve their professional goals and make their creative dreams reality. They both talk about the fight-or-flight response. Bane calls this response “Resistance” (p.29) and Peterson renames it the “write-or-flight” (p.17) response. This is how the fight or flight works:

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.

The response of the body to stress is somewhat like an airplane readying for take-off. Virtually all systems (the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and brain) are modified to meet the perceived danger. During conditions of stress there is a shift in the balance between two branches of the automatic nervous system (ANS) – the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).During stressful conditions, the activity of the SNS increases to prepare the body for the fight – or fight response. This means that, among other things, there is an increased heart rate, blood flow, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) – basically how sweaty our skin is! This response can be thought of as a shift in energy from the process of digestion to the muscles, meaning that the body is ready to take

Psychological and physical well-being and the overall quality of life are under a constant threat of stress and thus, psychological and medical sciences have long been concerned with studying stress response. Cox (1979) claimed that because of the poor understanding and defining it, the concept of stress tends to be rather elusive. The term, “stress”, commonly describes any physchological or physical alteration that deranges the organism’s homeostasis (or balance). This essay reviews some of the biological factors involved in stress and it has been organized in the following way. The paper begins by briefly introducing the concept of stress. It will then go on to discus and describe the automatic response (fight or flight reaction),

Stress is a state of emotional or mental tension or strain resulting from very demanding and adverse circumstances in an individual’s life. The term general adaptation syndrome (GAS) is used in describing the long-term and short-term reactions to stress through its three stages that explain an individual’s experience with stress. The alarm reaction stage is the initial stage where an individual reacts immediately to a stressor exhibiting a "fight or flight" response that prepares one’s body for any physical activity. This stage may however, result in decreased immune system effectiveness, making individuals more prone to an illness during this phase. The resistance is the second stage where f stress continues one’s the body forms an adaptation to the stressors with different levels of changes taking place to reduce the effectors stress. The exhaustion stage is the third one where one’s body resistance resistance to stress may gradually reduce or collapse quickly meaning that one’s immune system to resisting diseases may be almost eliminated.