We’ve all heard the term “fight or flight,” but most people don’t fully understand how it actually plays out in real life.
It’s not just about punching or running—this stress response is a complex, automatic reaction designed to keep us safe. Whether you’re dealing with confrontation, anxiety, public speaking, or a random panic in Tesco, your nervous system is doing more behind the scenes than you realise. Here’s what fight or flight actually means, and how it shows up in ways you might not expect.
1. It’s your body’s way of saying “danger!”—even if there isn’t any.
The fight or flight response is triggered by your brain’s amygdala, which scans for threats and sends out a “panic now” signal when it senses something’s wrong. The trouble is, it doesn’t always know the difference between real danger and imagined stress.
You could be safe at home reading an email, but if it makes you feel overwhelmed or threatened, your body can still react as if you’re being chased by a bear. That’s how strong—and sometimes inaccurate—this system can be.
2. It floods your body with stress hormones.
Once your brain hits the alarm, your adrenal glands release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals prepare you to either fight the threat or run from it, fast. Your heart pounds, your breath quickens, your muscles tense—it’s all happening in seconds.
This rush of hormones is meant to be short-lived. But in modern life, especially with chronic stress, your system can get stuck in this mode longer than it should, which is when anxiety and burnout start to creep in.
3. You might feel completely frozen, and that still counts.
Despite the name, “fight or flight” isn’t always about action. A lot of people actually freeze under stress. You might go blank in a conversation, feel rooted to the spot, or find yourself unable to speak when you’re scared or overwhelmed. That frozen state is another nervous system reaction—it’s your body saying, “If I stay still, maybe I’ll be safe.” It’s not weakness, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It’s a survival strategy, just like the others.
4. Your body reacts before your thoughts do.
One of the most surprising parts of fight or flight is that it kicks in before your logical brain has even processed what’s happening. You can feel on edge before you even know why, and that can be confusing or unsettling. This is why some people describe anxiety as “coming out of nowhere.” The brain’s threat detection system is fast and instinctive—it doesn’t wait for permission or logic.
5. Your digestion, sleep, and memory all take a hit.
When you’re in fight or flight mode, your body diverts energy away from things it considers non-essential in an emergency—like digestion, immune function, and deep sleep. That’s why stress often comes with gut issues, insomnia, or brain fog. It’s not in your head—it’s literally how your body prioritises energy. As time goes on, staying in this state too often can wear you down, physically and mentally.
6. It can make small problems feel huge.
When your nervous system is on high alert, even minor stressors can feel massive. You might overreact to a tone of voice, panic over a late text, or feel crushed by a to-do list. That’s not just personality—it’s biology. That doesn’t mean you’re dramatic. It means your brain and body are primed for threat, and they’re treating everything like it’s urgent, even when it’s not.
7. Everyone has a dominant response.
Some people are natural “fighters”—they get defensive, argumentative, or charged up under stress. Others are more “flight” driven—they avoid, shut down, or try to escape the situation altogether. Some freeze. Some fawn (people-please to stay safe). Your dominant response often comes from past experience, personality, and even trauma. Recognising your own pattern is the first step in learning how to manage it.
8. It’s not something you can just “think away.”
Because the fight or flight response starts in the body, it’s not always enough to talk yourself down with logic. You might know there’s no real threat, but your body hasn’t got the memo yet. This is why grounding techniques, breathing exercises, or movement can help more than simply telling yourself to “calm down.” Your body needs to feel safe, not just be told it is.
9. It can be triggered by emotional threats, not just physical ones.
Your brain treats rejection, embarrassment, or failure as threats too. That’s why something like receiving criticism or being ignored can trigger the same intense reactions as a physical danger. Modern stress is often emotional and social, but your nervous system is still wired like you’re dodging wild animals. It doesn’t always update its threat radar for 2025.
10. You can train your body to come back to calm.
The good news? You’re not stuck in fight or flight forever. With the right tools—like breathwork, mindfulness, movement, or therapy—you can teach your nervous system how to return to a calmer baseline. It doesn’t mean you’ll never feel anxious again, but it does mean you can respond rather than react. That’s what real emotional regulation looks like: not never freaking out, but knowing how to come back to centre after you do.
