08/19/2025
THIS!!!
Stress activates the 🧠 fight-or-flight response.
This initiates the sympathetic nervous system, releasing stress hormones like adrenaline to prepare the body for immediate action. The brain's neocortex (involved in rational thought) may shut down, prioritizing survival over complex thinking, while the hippocampus (memory center) focuses on the stressful situation. If the threat is not overcome, the body may move to a "freeze" response, or if the stressful event is not resolved, it can lead to chronic stress and its related health problem.
Here are some examples of 🧠 activation:
•Amygdala: Acts as the "smoke alarm," detecting potential threats and signaling the hypothalamus.
•Hypothalamus: Receives the signal from the amygdala and functions as the command center. It activates the autonomic nervous system to prepare the body for a rapid response.
•Neocortex: Shuts down or becomes less active as the perceived danger increases, shifting focus from complex reasoning to immediate survival.
•Hippocampus: The memory center that begins to record what caused the stressful event, helping to remember what made the experience stressful.
Here are some examples of Hormonal & Physical Responses:
•Adrenal Glands: Stimulated by the hypothalamus to release stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
•Sympathetic Nervous System: The "accelerator" of the autonomic nervous system, it pumps these hormones throughout the body, providing energy for fighting or fleeing.
•Physiological Changes: This hormonal surge leads to increased heart rate, rapid breathing, tense muscles, and blood diverting from non-essential areas to the muscles and brain.
And more
Overall, We can trigger this same fight-or-flight response just by thinking about a stressful situation. Ex-when we worry constantly about something or when we think about the same bad situation over and over again this can cause a vicious, stressful cycle for some people. This is why it's important to know how to retrain these parts of our brains to respond to stressors in a healthy way.
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