In today’s world, where physical threats are rare, our fight-or-flight response can still activate inappropriately. Predators no longer stalk us at every turn, but if we haven’t learned techniques for overcoming the fight or flight response, we find ourselves with unnecessary stress and anxiety.
This misfiring can result in chronic health issues and even burnout. However, you have access to effective, science-based methods to manage this deep-rooted survival mechanism.
In this post, we’re sharing some practical strategies to help you regain control and ensure your body’s response is proportionate to the challenges of modern living.
Introduction to Neuroception and How We Process Stress
Understanding the brain’s role in managing stress is pivotal to managing an overactive fight-or-flight response.
Neuroception is a term to describe our nervous system’s subconscious ability to perceive threats and assess safety. This function is crucial for your survival.
When neuroception detects a threat, the body experiences a flood of adrenaline, readying you to fight or flee. It can also trigger a state of immobilization known as the freeze response.
Neuroception dictates whether our fight-or-flight response kicks in without our conscious input. Modern life may not have the physical dangers our ancestors faced, but our neurological responses to perceived threats remain active.
It’s not just about the Big Events. Understanding neuroception helps us recognize that many modern stressors—demanding emails, urgent deadlines, or even social pressures—are not threats to our survival. Sometimes, our response to stress in these everyday situations can be overzealous, leaving our nervous systems on high alert for far too long.
We can even get stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Educating yourself about this process can help you tell the difference between true danger and everyday stress.
Understanding Your Autonomic Nervous System and Your Fight-or-Flight Response
Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the autopilot of your bodily functions, managing the unconscious activities that keep you alive, such as your heartbeat, breathing, and digestion.
It consists of two main parts.
The Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system kicks in your fight-or-flight response. It acts like the guard, always protecting you. This part of your ANS springs into action during times of perceived danger, quickening your heartbeat, accelerating your breath, and energizing your muscles—preparing you for either fight or flight.
While this response is vital for dangerous situations that really do require you to react quickly, it can become overactive.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system serves as a counterbalance to the body’s stress responses, often referred to as the “rest and digest” system. It works quietly in the background to conserve energy and restore calm after stressful events by slowing the heartbeat, relaxing muscles, and regulating digestion. This essential system helps maintain internal balance and promote healing, allowing you to recover from the day’s stresses and recharge. Understanding and nurturing the parasympathetic response is crucial for long-term health and well-being, as it supports our body’s natural ability to heal and regenerate.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is essential in regulating our fight-or-flight response. It consists of two main parts: the sympathetic nervous system, which activates our body’s stress response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps bring our body back to a state of calm. When faced with stress, the sympathetic system kicks in, and we feel heightened awareness and energy. However, prolonged activation can lead to stress-related ailments. By learning to engage the parasympathetic system, we can manage and mitigate these responses, promoting a healthier balance and reducing the risk of chronic stress effects.
The Fight or Flight Survival Mechanism
Historically, the fight-or-flight response was a lifesaver, enabling quick reactions to physical threats. Today, this response can be triggered by everyday occurrences like a heated conversation or a problematic traffic situation, often leading to chronic stress.
Understanding this can help us recognize the signs of fight-or-flight activation—such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, and tense muscles—and take steps to calm these reactions in non-threatening situations. Recognizing these signs early allows us to apply calming techniques before stress escalates into anxiety or other health issues.
How to Stop the Fight or Flight Response – 3 Practical Techniques to Reduce Stress
Understanding how to stop the fight or flight response is fundamental for maintaining mental wellness and achieving a balanced life. We teach practical, accessible strategies to help you manage and overcome the fight or flight response.
Whether you’re struggling with feeling stuck in fight-or-flight mode or simply seeking to enhance your ability to stay calm and centered, you need a plan to navigate these difficult moments. These three techniques—noticing safety cues, getting present, and muscle relaxation—are designed to empower you to regain control and cultivate a sense of safety and stability, no matter your circumstances.
Overcome Fight or Flight by Noticing Safety Cues
One effective strategy to overcome the fight or flight response is to focus on noticing safety cues around you.
This technique involves grounding yourself by acknowledging the stability and security of your immediate environment. Start by feeling your feet firmly on the ground, recognizing the solid, stable surface beneath you. This simple action sends cues to your mind that you are on firm ground, not wobbly, and supported by a strong foundation.
Next, enhance this grounding by observing other elements that signal safety—note the exits, identify supportive people around, and appreciate natural elements like living plants and flowers. These elements reinforce a sense of life and survival, subtly informing your brain that you are safe.
Soothing colors in your surroundings can also play a critical role; soft shades like blues, greens, and light neutrals tend to calm the mind. Engage your senses further by holding an object and focusing on its texture—this interaction invites your mind to assess safety and affirm your security, helping shift from survival mode to a state of calm and readiness to proceed with your day.
Overcome Fight or Flight by Getting Present
To effectively stop the flight or fight response, you need to get present. This technique centers on anchoring yourself in the exact moment, cutting through the noise that might trigger stress responses.
Begin by stating your full name and acknowledging your current location and address. You can even date and time out loud. This practice not only grounds you in the present moment but also helps your brain to process that you are safe and not in immediate danger.
By vocalizing these details, you reinforce your reality. Your brain can begin to shift from its focus on a potential threat to acknowledging the safe and actual situation. Visualizing yourself in the current moment—recognizing your age, your environment, and what you are currently doing—further aids in this transition.
This method is particularly powerful in helping you recognize that you have grown and learned from past experiences, even if they were recent. And it reinforces that you do have the capacity to handle the present situation with composure.
Overcome Fight or Flight with Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a hands-on method to signal to your body that it is safe. This technique involves systematically tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups, starting with the jaw and moving down to the toes.
By manually tightening and releasing muscles, you provide clear information to your brain that there is no need for automatic muscle tension prepared for fight or flight. This exercise not only relaxes the muscles but also activates the vagus nerve, which is critical for connecting your brain’s emotional and survival centers to the rest of your body.
You can also begin to improve your posture as you go through the relaxation process to send additional signals of confidence and safety to your brain. As you work your way down the body, remember to breathe deeply and allow your core and legs to relax, settling your entire body and mind into a state of peace and readiness to engage with whatever is happening without undue stress.
Learn More in Our Free Course—Neuroception: How We Make Sense of Things
Deepening our understanding of neuroception can enhance our ability to manage stress and anxiety. Our free course on neuroception explores practical techniques for harnessing the power of the autonomic nervous system to maintain balance and improve mental health.
When you understand your own survival mechanisms and how your brain processes stressful events, you can learn to control your fight-or-flight response and calm yourself any time you need to. This is exactly how you begin to build the resilience you need to face chronic stress or the simple challenges of daily life.
