Member-only story
Fight Or Flight
The pace of modern life locks us into a fight or flight response. A person who is constantly running, performing often meaningless tasks on which we are judged and measured has no time to think, to feel, to be informed.
I have been locked into this mode for some time. The difference is that I am aware of it.
This leads to negative emotions, which is natural. In fight or flight mode, that is what rules your response to everything. It is emotional reactionism.
This is the same response one expects to see in a person with PTSD. It’s called being hyperalert. It is marked by an exaggerated emotional response to certain stimuli. The emotional response overcomes and negates any critical observation, making a threat seem more dangerous than it may be at the time. The threat elicits the need for immediate response, either by aggression or by retreat. These responses may be internalized but are still very much present.
When the stimulus which incites such an emotional response is present on a chronic and persistent basis, it leads a person into an ever-present state of anxiety which pervades their existence, their every waking moment.
One of the biggest problems is that the range of stimuli presented by our government and media…
