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The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-freeze-or-fawn [1] (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. [2] It was first described by Walter Bradford Cannon in 1915.
The body's response to stress is also termed a "fight or flight" response, and it is characterised by an increase in blood flow to the skeletal muscles, heart, and brain, a rise in heart rate and blood pressure, dilation of pupils, and an increase in the amount of glucose released by the liver. [8]
A common misunderstanding can be that FFS is a measure of one's reaction to lean more towards fighting or to lean more towards fleeing in response to perceived threats; [20] however, FFS is a measure of one's intensity to respond with either fight or flight behavior, as opposed to reacting not so acutely to perceived threats. [20]
In evolutionary psychology, people often speak of the four Fs which are said to be the four basic and most primal drives (motivations or instincts) that animals (including humans) are evolutionarily adapted to have, follow, and achieve: fighting, fleeing, feeding and fucking (a more polite synonym is the word "mating"). [1]
Polyvagal theory calls this the "smart vagus" because it associates it with the regulation of sympathetic "fight or flight" behaviors by way of social affiliative behaviors. [24] These behaviors are said to include social communication and self-soothing and calming. [17]
If the amygdala perceives a match to the stimulus, i.e., if the record of experiences in the hippocampus tells the amygdala that it is a fight, flight or freeze situation, then the amygdala triggers the HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal) axis and "hijacks" or overtakes rational brain function. [5]
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The fight-or-flight response involves a general sympathetic nervous system discharge in reaction to a perceived stressor and prepares the body to fight or run from the threat causing the stress. Catecholamine hormones, such as adrenaline or noradrenaline , facilitate immediate physical reactions associated with a preparation for violent ...