The fight-or-flight response is designed to last as long as necessary to survive a life-threatening situation. Thus, when a threat is encountered in the environment, it is activated almost immediately and can last for minutes to hours until it is safe when you dispatch the threat (fight) or run away from the threat (flight).
Unfortunately, when you have chronic stress and anxiety, it can activate your fight-or-flight response for a long time—as long as your anxiety and stress exist. So when you have chronic stress and anxiety, the fight or flight response is activated long-term. The problem with this is that the fight or flight response is not meant to last long as it is a short-term survival response where your body mobilizes all its resources to deal with an imminent threat. But when your body prepares for long enough to survive the inevitable, your body starts to break down and you can develop medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.
The good news is that you can stop chronic activation of the fight-or-flight response by addressing your stressors and treating your anxiety. For more help and information on stress, anxiety and the fight or flight response, visit the rest of AnxietyBoss.com.
