Our body produces various stress responses when faced with a stressful situation. This involves the release of stress hormones or fight, flight, and freeze responses. 

Fight response means when faced with a dangerous situation our body prepares itself to fight it. It is a way to deal aggressively with a situation. This response takes place when your body believes that it can overcome a particular situation. Signs of fight response include:

• Tight jaw
• Grinding your teeth
• Urge to punch something or someone
• A feeling of intense anger 
• Need to stomp or kick
• Crying in anger
• Attacking the source of danger

Flight response occurs when your body believes that it cannot overcome the particular situation so it reacts by escaping from the stressful or dangerous situation. Hormones like, adrenaline gives your body instant energy or stamina to run from the situation. Signs of flight response include:

Excessive training

• Feeling fidgety, tense, or trapped
• Keep your legs, feet, and arms moving

. • restless body• Numbness in arms and legs

• Large bulging eyes  

A freeze response occurs when your body doesn’t feel that it can fight or flee from the situation. You are just stuck in the situation and couldn’t think of any possible way to escape or fight. Signs of freeze response include:

• Sense of dread
• Pale skin
• Feeling stiff, heavy, cold, and numb
• Loud, pounding heart
• Decreasing heart rate

They occur naturally as a response to stressful situations. During their occurrence your body undergoes many changes such as your heart starts beating faster than normal, your skin becomes pale, your eyes dilate, your blood thickens, your hands and feet get cold etc. 

How to cope with these situations

Various anxiety disorders or chronic stress can initiate these responses. The problem that triggers these responses varies from person to person. But also, there are various environmental factors and health conditions associated with these responses.

Relaxation technique: By practicing relaxation techniques, you can easily combat stress conditions. These are also called mental grounding techniques. They help you to relax your mind. These include: 

• deep abdominal breathing
• focusing on a calming word
• visualizing peaceful images
• meditation
• repetitive prayer
• yoga
• tai chi

Physical grounding Techniques: another strategy to combat stress is the physical grounding techniques, which include: 

The physical connection to the ground through heel loading.

• Focus on contracting your body and slowly relax from your forehead to your toes.
• Control your breathing and focus on speed and stability.
• Load the heel and physically connect it to the ground.
• Concentrate on contracting your body and slowly relax from your forehead to your toes. 

Soothing grounding techniques: Soothing techniques help a lot while dealing with stressful conditions. These soothing techniques can be:

Think of your happy place and relax there

• Reward yourself with something soothing or cheerful Repeat coping statements
• Speak positive affirmations  

Social Support: having good social support i.e. family or friends around, can really do well to help to deal with stressful situations.

When to seek professional help

When you are in a constant state of flight, fight or freeze response that it starts interfering with your daily routine then it becomes a time to seek professional help. Psychologists or Psychiatrists can help you very well in dealing with all of the stress and anxiety causing these responses. 

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