Fight or flight! [What stress really is]

Stress is the body’s instinctive reaction to danger

Muscles tense up, breathing gets harder, heart rate increases and blood vessels expand as the autonomous nerve system releases the hormones cortisol and epinephrine. That’s what happens when your brain tells your body to prepare for an emergency situation, according to American Psychological Association.

While this bodily response may frustrate us as we try to multitask our way through a hectic every day schedule, the body’s ability perform to the max in potentially dangerous situations has been imperative for human survival.

Stress Management Society explains how an adrenaline kick prepares the body for extreme physical action such as taking up a fight or flee as fast as possible. “Freeze” is a third, less optimal option, where the mobilised energy gets locked into the nervous system, causing us to literally hold our breaths.

If stress reactions occur frequently over time, they do not only diminish our ability to think straight and focus but also result in chronically elevated levels of cortisol causing an increase in blood pressure and a decrease in libido.

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