The Fight or Flight Response: Part 1- Steps to Take & How to Talk to Yourself During a Response

The fight or flight response.
What actually happens when we are triggered and our amygdala takes over, in an instinctual way, to protect ourselves? What occurs and how can we help ourselves turn the dial down on the response when there is, in fact, no actual danger present?
It can be tricky right? If you have triggers from a previous traumatic experience or difficult moment in your life, the fight or flight switch can be turned on with that trigger, by that emotional remembering of the amygdala. Read my previous writing to understand the amygdala’s role in emotional memory more fully: Emotional Memory & the Amygdala

It can be disconcerting at best and definitely quite worrisome to feel anxious, revved up, and “ready for action”, ready to protect when there is no actual present danger. The body is remembering and trying to respond in a protective way. We can go about our day and all of a sudden get hijacked because of something we see, something said, an item that reminds us, or something attached to another one of our 5 senses…

Hijacked is a great way to describe this phenomenon because it stops us in what we are doing presently and makes it difficult to continue that current circumstance or train of thought well.

So— what are you to do when the amygdala turns the fight or flight response on?
First, acknowledge what is going on. Self-talk is extremely helpful at this moment. Talk to yourself in your mind or quietly out loud if needed “I am feeling anxious all of a sudden.” “I’m feeling worried. What just happened to cause me to feel that way?”

“Is anything that just occurred reminding me of something troublesome from the past?”
Get curious about what happened right before you began to feel anxious, worried, extremely alert, with that adrenaline rush. If you can’t identify what it was, jot down some notes for yourself— Where you were. Who was around. What was being talked about. What your thoughts were. What text came through or thing you just read online or elsewhere. If there was a smell or a deja vu feeling. Any other clues you notice.

As you jot down these notes, patterns may emerge for you as you have additional fight or flight moments in the future. Think of yourself as a detective, a researcher in a way. You are gathering facts trying to figure out what clues matter to lead to the why…

The triggers to be aware of are the clues. These triggers are associated with a past memory.
That past memory and your response to and interaction with it is the why.

You can then decrease the intensity of the fight or flight response— through calming strategies and through therapy with an empathetic and experienced therapist.

An EMDR-trained therapist will help significantly with trauma and amygdala/body responses to stressful and/or traumatic events. Working with a therapist to identify the triggers and hone in on the why, the past event or circumstance will help to decrease the intensity of your responses. That therapist can help you work through that event or circumstance to dial down the intensity of your symptoms.

This will help increase your capacity in life and “get back your life”, especially if you feel the fight or flight responses have overtaken or hijacked your life and your ability to do life well.

Speak truth to yourself in these moments. Do not be dismissive.

Be validating and empathetic towards yourself.

“I know that made me feel anxious and put me in a protective mode, a fight or flight mode.” “I feel the tension in my body right now. I am safe right now.”
“This specific thing is not a danger presently, and this is why.”

Tell yourself what is positive at that moment with the current circumstance. Talk back against any negative statement you may be tempted to make against yourself.

“I don’t like this. I want this anxious, overwhelming feeling to stop. This is my body’s way of responding and reacting to past charged moments. I can help myself calm down from the anxious or antsy feeling I presently have. I have tools to help me calm this feeling down.”

Have compassion and empathy for yourself in these moments. That is crucial.

Don’t beat yourself up for your emotional response center, your amygdala, jumping to your defense and jumping into action. It is your body’s way of trying to protect you. Knowing what is going on is a wonderful step towards having more control of the situation when you feel anxious and revved up.

I do this with my triggers connected to my child’s severe anaphylactic food allergies that we navigate and manage, and I will share in one of my next posts how I approach the fight or flight response in those situations, when a danger is present and when a trigger is present from the past, but the current setting is safe.

I will also be writing about further coping strategies for and approaches to a fight or flight response to help decrease the intensity of the response.

Download the Fight or Flight Guide here: https://choosejoyinthemidst.myflodesk.com/thefightorflightguidebook It is your quick companion guide to the Fight or Flight Response Series.

Stay tuned friends and make sure to follow me on Facebook Choosejoyinthemidst1 and Instagram Choosejoyinthemidst to not miss either of those posts or other content I share, both faith-based and psychology-based content to empower you in your life journey!