The Stress Response Series: Flight
You know when you just feel unsettled? Or you have seen / know someone who just feels.......unsettled?
For the last couple of months in my acting class I’ve noticed that one classmate in particular cannot for the life of him sit still.
When he’s sitting down his leg is constantly jumping up and down or he’s drumming his fingers against his legs or looking all around the room.
I wondered why I was paying so much attention to it and then realized it might have something to do with a stress response.
Last week we talked about the fight response and this week we are moving on to Flight.
Like we discussed last week, one of the main jobs of our nervous system is to keep us safe and our stress responses are a direct result of our nervous system believing we are in some form of danger.
The point is not to never have stress and/or to never have a response. They are there for a reason - they kept many of our ancestors alive (and are the reason we are here today) and in our current lives we still need these responses in certain moments to protect us.
The problem becomes when we have these responses and we can’t / don’t come out of it; when our body stays in the flight mode and we remain in prolonged states of stress.
Like the Fight response, Flight is part of the hyper-arousal category which means that we are more prone to be hyper vigilant, feel a sense of urgency, feelings of anxiety and heightened agitation.
Often times these responses don't literally translate to the word. Yes, we or someone else might actually run away in a situation but more times than not, it's more subtle. It may not look like physically running away but the emotional and physical response might have the same qualities as if that were the case.
This can translate in real time to:
Constant movement of the legs, arms, hands etc.
Darting of the eyes
Nervous Ticks
Avoiding or leaving conversations
Ghosting 👻
Yes, some of those behaviors might just be an indication of someone with a lot of energy (and there's nothing wrong with that) but it also might be signs of the flight response.
From my observation and experience whether in personal or professional spaces, when we ourselves "ghost" someone / experience being ghosted, or have a difficult time communicating, directly addressing conflict or addressing conflict in a healthy way, there’s certainly a number of reasons why those things could be happening (not having proper communication skills, personal boundaries, etc/) but there’s probably a chance that the flight response is involved.
There might be something about the situation that is causing us to not feel safe and as a protective mechanism the nervous system says "run!" "Get away from this danger!" "avoid at all costs!"
This is not to excuse unhealthy or harmful behavior and it’s certainly not our place to try to psychoanalyze / diagnosis someone; however, it’s potential context that might support actions towards yourself or others.
6 Ways to Address the Flight Response
Take a sacred pause. Notice what’s happening in your body. Notice sensation.
BONUS: If you have space/time for private reflection, ask those sensations or the parts of the body where you feel sensation: "what do you need to communicate to me?" or "what do you need to feel supported?" Listen, see what shows up.
Return to your senses. Take note of 1 thing for each sense (taste, touch, sound, sight and smell)
Deep belly (not chest) breathing
Incorporate slow movements: slow eye moving, slow walking, slow breathing.
BONUS: Tai Chi / Qi Gong to practice slowing down the nervous system outside of the response
Put your feet on the ground, in grass if possible. Actually *feel* the ground beneath you.
Notice the moments when your flight response is the most active and get curious if there’s a pattern (write them down if you are able to)
BONUS: Can you catch what your mind is telling you either in the moment or if you have space / time after? What are some of the thoughts running in your head and examine if they are true.
As I will always continue to note: as important as it is to notice and address the response, if it’s something that is frequent and ongoing, it’s equally as important to get curious about its deeper roots (examining your environments, relationships, belief systems, past traumas and overall nervous system health/healing).
This may be something you feel safe to do and explore on your own and it also may require professional support. Either way, give yourself the gift of healing on the deeper levels so you have full access to your energy (vs. spending all of your time and energy trying to manage your stress).
Next week we’ll be looking at the next stress response: Freeze!
Until next time, sending you peace and clean energy,
Bianca
p.s - If you want to dive deeper into the stress responses and burnout specifically within the work place (how they show up, how they impact our well-being, our relationships and our work,), you can check out my 2 part Nervous System Series which is designed for organizations who are ready to support their employees’ stress and burnout levels on a deeper and more sustainable level.