The Hidden Effects of Chronic Stress: Fight or Flight

Sometimes it feels like your body is working against you. Why do you crave all the wrong foods? Why do you find yourself tense, with an achey tummy and a fuzzy brain?! Why do you have too much energy to relax, but not enough focus to be productive?!!

Actually, your body is always trying to keep you healthy and doing what’s best for your survival. The  thing is, our body’s processes have evolved in wild, natural environments very different from those in which we live today. Our modern society with all its conveniences has only really existed for the last hundred(ish) years and our instincts and physical responses haven’t had time to adapt to our new surroundings. This is a big factor contributing to chronic stress, anxiety, and many other chronic diseases that plague our society today.

Understanding how to manage stress and anxiety naturally can help counteract these effects and improve overall well-being.

Evolution is Stressful

Prehistoric humans lived as hunter gatherers for over 200,000 years (and some tribes still do). For context, the pyramids were built around 4,500 years ago, so we have been hunter gatherers for a very long time - it's our species' natural way of life. We foraged and hunted for food, made shelters from natural resources, and lived surrounded by animals and plants, exposed to the elements.

This environment shaped how our bodies function- which nutrients we need from food, how sunlight sets our circadian rhythm, the way that plants and birdsong reduce stress hormones- it's all a result of our evolutionary surroundings.

Living in the wild also exposed us to threats and dangers, such as predators. Being wary of dangerous surroundings required constant alertness - after all, failure to react to a hungry carnivore could mean death! But humans who recognised danger and reacted quickly - using a burst of energy to defend themselves or run away - survived, and procreated. So over hundreds of thousands of years, we became wired for alertness for danger and instant response, developing the physical mechanisms of our fight or flight stress response.

This is Your Fight or Flight Response

Also known as the fight-or-flight response, it's hard-wired physical response that travels throughout your body instantly. It activates the Sympathetic Nervous System and triggers the release of stress hormones Cortisol and Adrenaline. Together, they change how your body functions:

• Pupils dilate, changing your vision to better see threats and escape routes.

• Breathing speeds up, increasing oxygen absorption into the bloodstream.

• Blood glucose levels rise, providing more energy to your cells.

• Heart beats faster and harder, pumping blood quickly, transporting oxygen and glucose to your cells for fuel.

• Blood flow is redirected to the organs and muscles needed for immediate action. That means there's less blood (and the essential resources it carries) available for processes non-essential to immediate survival (like digestion)

• Muscles to become tense and shaky - full of energy, ready to run or fight.

• Immune function decreases, and other long-term bodily functions are suppressed, affecting memory, emotional regulation, body temperature, menstruation and hormonal balance.

That’s a LOT of changes happening very quickly! These reactions explain why you feel certain physical symptoms when stressed, nervous or angry - pale skin, cold feet, muscle tension, heart palpitations, clammy hands, butterflies in your tummy and difficulty thinking clearly.

The Modern-Day Epidemic: Chronic Stress

For prehistoric humans the fight or flight response was a literal life-saver! And within less than an hour of escaping danger, their Parasympathetic Nervous System - also known as the 'rest and digest' response - would return their bodily functions to normal. But for modern humans, the stress response is a double-edged sword.

While we rarely find ourselves chased by a lion, we encounter 'threatening' situations on a daily basis. Our lives don't need to be in danger for us to feel threatened - a threat could be anything that worries us, makes us feel under pressure, makes us jump, makes us feel inadequate, unsafe or vulnerable to rejection... Whether real or imagined, immediate or distant, modern 'threats' are everywhere:

• Being woken up by a loud, sudden noise

• Running late and getting stuck in traffic

• Scary news headlines

• Unmanageable workloads or endless to-do lists

• Looming deadlines

• Financial problems

• Health worries

• Unhappy relationships

• Watching intense movies or social media conflicts

There are also other common factors that elevate our stress hormones:

• Coffee, tea & energy drinks (caffeine triggers stress hormones)

• Junk food (which lack nutrients we need for stress resilience)

• Fast pace of life (being always 'on' requires lots of energy!)

Stress hormones are not the enemy - your body needs them for energy! They wake us up in the morning, they allow us to work at speed, and to do physical exercise - but your body evolved to experience them in short bursts. Unfortunately, the high speed of modern life and the daily stressors we encounter, along with the time delay for stress hormones to subside, mean that many of us spend the majority of our waking hours stuck in fight or flight! What's worse, we don't even realise it - because we're in this state so all the time, it becomes our 'normal' and we don't notice it.

But whether or not we notice, our bodies and minds will experience the effects of those physiological changes. Alongside the physical symptoms listed above, we may start to notice behavioural symptoms like an inability to relax, trouble sleeping, or irritability. And Chronic stress is also a major factor behind some of the most common chronic diseases. Over time, it can lead to burnout, and it's linked to increased risk of anxiety, depression, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even digestive issues.

Breaking the Cycle of Chronic Stress

If you're starting to worry about the effects of stress on your health, don’t panic! Knowledge is power, and understanding the effects of stress is the first step toward change. While stress is unavoidable, there are simple ways to reduce it, and help your mind and body recover quickly. Practices like micro-mindfulness, deep breathing, spending time in nature, and prioritizing rest can help your nervous system shift out of fight-or-flight mode. Small, intentional steps can make a big difference in how you feel over time.

As a health coach, I help women make lifestyle changes that combat the effects of stress - check out my services here! And if you want to learn more about how to reduce and manage stress and anxiety, check out my guide How to Manage Stress and Anxiety Naturally.