How to Control a Rampant Stress Response – Key Relaxation Techniques for Fight or Flight

We have a stress response that goes wild in the most inconvenient times, fight or flight. If we are against a bear in the wild? This response rocks, but when faced with everyday inconveniences, worries, and challenges, it becomes exhausting and harmful.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about fight or flight, including what it is, where it is helpful, how harmful it is, and how to get it under control. It is important for us to essentially hack our biology and make the mind and body work with us, not against us.

What is Fight or Flight

Fight or flight is a biological change that occurs in the body which is meant to help a person fight off danger or run away from the situation. It is the body’s way of protecting itself from any potential stress or harm. During fight or flight, many things occur. 

Hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released into the blood. Digestion is shut off, and your heart rate quickens. This increases blood pressure and allows the body to circulate more blood to prepare for action. The airways relax enabling you to breathe and oxygenate blood effectively and your pupils dilate in order to perceive any threat. Your kidneys also secrete norepinephrine, which is a hormone that increases alertness, and attention, and affects your sleep cycle.

Causes

In the past, fight or flight was a response the body would have when facing grave dangers. If you are in a physical fight with another person, it’s normal to undergo this stress response. Other examples would be way back when our ancestors would fight off predators or flee from danger. This response allowed us to thrive in the past, but in modern society, fight or flight can be very harmful.

This stress response may be over-activated in the body. It may occur whenever we perceive danger or harm, which can be attributed to many things. Fight or flight May start to be provoked by everyday events such as traffic jams, worries about your job, financial difficulties, or relationship issues. When fight or flight is activated in these mundane situations, health problems arise.

Issue 

We can run from a bear, but it’s not possible to run from having to pay a bill or fight off your job. When we continuously have this stress response, we tend to develop many issues. This includes a weakened immune system, digestive issues, and high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The hormones released by the stress response also contribute to increased stress which leads to chronic inflammation. Inflammation is linked to many debilitating diseases such as acid reflux, immunocompromised reaction, unstable metabolism, depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, rash, joint pain, and irritable bowel syndrome.

How to Control a Rampant Stress Response Fight or Flight

As shown above, a rampant stress response running amok can be very detrimental to wellness and overall health. Here are some ways to control your fight or flight response, including how to activate your relaxation response!

Belly Breathing

Belly breathing is an incredibly helpful way to reduce fight or flight. This is a form of deep breathing that involves contracting the diaphragm to completely fill the lungs with air. This can help reduce our stress and anxiety response. It helps to turn a stress response into a relaxation response due to the deep breaths which activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of the body responsible for turning off fight or flight.

Simply place your hand on your lower stomach. Try to sigh out any lingering breath in your lungs first. Now, take a slow deep breath and physically fill up your lungs to the point where your hand on your lower stomach moves. Hold this breath for a couple of seconds then release it slowly and completely, feeling your lungs completely empty out all of the oxygen.

Focus Attention Meditation

Focus attention meditation is just what it sounds like. This is a meditation in which you focus your attention on a certain thing. This turns your attention from whatever issue or challenge you are undergoing which is causing your stress response to activate towards something else. Meditation in the long run also has many benefits including emotional regulation, improving the immune system, boosting cardiovascular health, and boosting mental wellness. Learn more about how to meditate like a pro here!

The most common thing to focus on during these types of meditation is your breath. All you have to do is find a space to quietly sit comfortably for a couple of minutes. Now, you’re going to take deep, slow breaths. Do this for about 5 minutes, concentrating only on how the breath flows into your lungs and out of them.

Guided Visualizations

Visualizations are another great way to turn a stress response into a relaxation response. This is because visualization can help your mind and body think it is in another place. Visualizations have the ability to slow down the heart rate, lower blood pressure, improve digestion, and decrease stress and anxiety.

All you have to do is find a visualization you like to listen to. There are many options online that you can choose from, or you can create your own. Just make a safe space in your mind. This can be you imagining that you are in a hammock on a beach. Feel the warmth of the sun, notice the slate breeze, and listen to the sound of waves crashing in the background.

Vagus Nerve Activation 

Biggest nerve activation is an uncommon but incredibly useful tool to have. This is because the vagus nerve is what carries signals between your brain, heart, and digestive system. The vagus nerve is a key part of the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of the body that turns off fight or flight. Well you do not have to think for the vagus nerve to do its job, there are things that you can do to activate the vagus nerve, therefore activating a relaxation response.

Here’s a full article on Vagus nerve activation, but a simple thing you can do whenever you experience a stress response is to hum. Humming physically activates the vagus nerve due to physical stimulation. This will help regulate the heart rate, reduce stress, and increase relaxation.

Other Relaxation Response Activities

There are a couple of other activities that can help induce a relaxation response. What a lot of these activities have in common is that they involve soft movement, deep breaths, and focusing your attention away from your issues. While ignoring problems won’t solve anything, it can help you clear your mind and return to the situation with new determination and focus toward a solution. 

Yoga is a great way to control your stress response. It is a form of moving and meditating since it is linked to deep breathing. Different positions are linked to different health benefits that strengthen the body and improve overall health. Another option is tai chi, a gentle and non-strenuous form of martial arts that can improve flexibility, strength, and balance and calm the mind due to the deep, slow breaths you take.

The Takeaway

Fight or flight is beneficial on some occasions, but when it starts to happen in regular mundane events, it can be very harmful. Too much of this stress response can lead to cardiovascular disease, chronic inflammation, poor digestion, a weakened immune system, and a bunch of other issues. That is why we need to learn how to control this stress response in order to live a happier, healthier life. Learn to meditate, practice deep breathing, activate the vagus nerve, and try relaxation response activities to boost health and reduce stress today.

Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutrient-dense food, move your body, and care for your mental health. Daily habits are the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. As shown above, take care of your gut health! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.