FOR MIND BODY MEDICINE AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

For Mind Body Medicine
at Massachusetts General Hospital

The Tools and Support
Needed to Better Face
Life's Challenges

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The Tools and Support
Needed to Better Face
Life's Challenges

Join Our Network

Stress: Fight or Flight

Stress is the term used to define the body’s automatic physiologic reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustments.

The stress response is also called the fight-or-flight response, as identified by Dr. Walter B. Cannon of the Harvard Medical School almost 100 years ago. The stress response is a profound set of involuntary physiological changes that occur whenever we are faced with a changing situation. The stress response, critical to the survival of primitive humankind, prepares the body for a physical reaction to a threat – to fight or flee. Confronted by this threat – physical or emotional, real or imagined – the brain releases epinephrine and norepinephrine (also known as adrenaline and noradrenaline) and other related hormones. When released into the body, these messengers propel you into a state of arousal.

When under stress:

  • Your metabolism increases
  • Your heart beats faster and your muscles tense
  • Your breathing becomes shallow and you start to perspire
  • The flow of blood to your internal organs and extremities decreases
  • The functioning of your immune and digestive systems is inhibited

Stress and Performance

Stress can be, and often is, beneficial. Harvard’s Robert M. Yerkes, M.D. and John D. Dodson, M.D. first described the relation between stress and performance in 1908. At appropriate levels, stress increases both efficiency and performance. For example, before an athletic event, competitors involuntarily elicit the stress response. Before an examination, students exhibit increased heart rate and blood pressure. Similarly, in today’s high-powered competitive environment, the stimulus of the fight-or-flight response is often essential to success. As stress and/or anxiety increase, so do performance and efficiency.

However, this relationship does not continue indefinitely in this fashion. When situations produce excessive stress, a threshold is exceeded. This stress overload is associated with diminishing performance and efficiency. This relationship is known as the Yerkes Dodson Law.

Warning Signs & Symptoms of Stress

It is easy for stress to accumulate as we make our way through hectic days, throwing us into a negative stress cycle.

In survey after survey, Americans today identify stress as their primary health concern. More than 50% of adults in the U.S. report feeling highly stressed on a daily basis. Untreated, stress can seriously affect health, work performance, relationships, and general well-being.

The cycle starts when we perceive an event as stressful or threatening. This reaction can cause physical or psychological symptoms, which in turn increase our stress. And so the cycle goes: stress makes symptoms worse and increased symptoms lead to more stress.

Learning to recognize your early warning signals and taking steps to manage stress may prevent you from entering the unhealthy, negative stress cycle.

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