Imagine, you’re a frontier settler in the 1700s traveling through Yosemite.
At night, by the campfire, you hear the wolves howling nearby. Your horse is spooked. A few hours later as the fire dies down a bit and you had drifted off to sleep, your horse stirs, snorts, and stomps her feet, waking you from your slumber. As you awaken, you glance into the woods and see multiple sets of eyes in the dark nearby, much closer than before.
The hairs on your back prick up immediately, a chill goes down your spine, you grab your rifle and you throw fresh wood on the fire and get it built back up. In the early morning chill, you carefully keep your eyes on the woods until the fire is back fully and the sun is up, nearby knowing danger lurks nearby.
What happened in your brain in this instance is your amygdala hijacked control, which meant that blood rushed to your amygdala, increasing its size temporarily, enabling you to focus on the real threat in the woods. Everything else faded away except the very real threat at hand.
Your nervous system’s #1 job during moments of perceived danger is to keep you alive.
Now, fortunately, we don’t typically face real threats as real as wolves in the woods in our modern laptop warrior or office type roles.
But as high achievers, our body can perceive a threat from modern life multiple times throughout the day and react in a similar way:
- A critical comment on your social media profile
- A surprise bill or expense
- Less money in your bank account than you expected when you wake up
- Your child’s cry or scream
- A harsh comment from your partner
- A client, boss, or customer complaint
What happens to your body during periods of threat? It activates the fight-or-flight response, an automatic reaction orchestrated by the autonomic nervous system. This response is designed to prepare the body to either confront or flee from danger.
- Threat Detection: The brain, specifically the amygdala, identifies the threat. This triggers the hypothalamus, which acts as a command center, signaling the body to react.
- Adrenaline Release: The hypothalamus sends signals to the adrenal glands, prompting them to release adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). These hormones flood the bloodstream, leading to immediate physiological changes.
- Increased Heart Rate and Breathing: The heart beats faster, pumping more blood to vital organs and muscles. Breathing becomes rapid and shallow to increase oxygen intake.
- Heightened Senses: Pupils dilate to allow more light into the eyes, improving vision. Hearing becomes more acute as the body focuses on detecting further threats.
- Redirected Blood Flow: Blood is diverted away from non-essential systems, like digestion, toward the muscles and brain. This ensures energy is concentrated where it’s most needed.
- Energy Surge: The liver releases glucose into the bloodstream, providing a quick energy boost. Fat stores may also be mobilized for additional energy.
- Muscle Readiness: Muscles tense, preparing for immediate action. This can sometimes cause trembling due to heightened activation.
- Suppressed Non-Essential Functions: Processes like digestion, reproduction, and immune response slow down to conserve energy for survival tasks.
This state of heightened alertness and readiness allows humans to react swiftly to danger. Once the threat is resolved, the parasympathetic nervous system engages, restoring the body to a state of calm and balance.
How do we get on the other side of fear? We’ll break that down fully in the next email as I didn’t want to give you a book to read today :).
But here are a few useful tools: Pick up my Neurorewiring Guide here for 14 tools to rewire your nervous system (including from fear and anxiety).
Additionally, by using the power of imagination you can escape fear and create an altered state, which I break down here: Can Imagining Success Really Improve Performance?
With Gratitude,
Mike Zeller
P.S. You may also like this: Are You Letting Stress Hijack Your Brain?