What is the Stress Response?

What is the Stress Response and How Does it Affect us?

The stress response is our body’s reaction to
 stress – it is the cascade of stress hormones that produce physiological changes in our body, including a pounding heart, short, shallow breathing and sweating palms and forehead, when we are stressed. These signs of stress are commonly known as the ‘fight, flight or fawn response’, designed to help us prepare for any perceived threat by acting aggressively, fleeing the scene or ‘pleasing’ the aggressor in order to avoid conflict. 

The physical changes include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and increased blood sugar levels – these help prime our bodies to prepare to deal with the threat and they are instinctual. They were developed as a response to real threats in our past, such as being eaten or chased by a predator. Just think about it – increased blood sugar will give us more energy to run faster and for longer! 

So what’s the problem with this? 

The truth is that it’s very rare that we find ourselves in situations where our life is under threat. The problem arises because our brains and our bodies don’t seem know the difference between the threat of presenting to a crowd versus the threat of being eaten by a lion! There appears to be no middle ground.