The fight-or-flight response is referred to as a biological stress response. The term stress is short for distress, a word evolved from the Latin word stringere, meaning “to draw tight or pull apart.” In your most stressful moments, it can sometimes feel as if you are being pulled in a million directions emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, and in all the other aspects of your life.

 Each day we experience small disappointments and larger expectations not being met. Whenever your needs aren’t met, you have the potential to respond in many ways. When you respond reflexively instead of reflectively— or automatically fighting or fleeing instead of choosing a more intuitive response—you lower yourself to your most primitive state such as the fight-or-flight response, which is hardwired into your DNA. And in that moment, you are ruled by your chemicals and hormones acting out a long-conditioned pattern.

Are you wired to fight or flee?

Which do you choose in a given moment? The level of testosterone that’s in your system will often determine whether you will fight or flee. If you have a high level of testosterone – which is the case with more men than women – than you’re pre-wired to fight upon experiencing a threat. Lower levels of testosterone – which is the case with more women than men – will make you more likely to run away. An additional factor is hunger. We are actually more likely to fight back if our stomach is empty. When we are famished, the blood flows away from our rational brain functions to our reptilian survival based functions, and boom – we are milliseconds away from attacking. But, nine out of ten times, when physically threatened, our first instinct will be to run (or at least move or jump back) – whether we are a man or a woman – before take our next step.

BUT After meditating regularly for only a few days, you will transform forever! Those who have a consistent meditation practice have been scientifically proven to respond to the world differently. Regular meditators are calmer, less reactive, less angry, more reflective, more creative, more intuitive, more efficient, more patient, more productive, happier, more fulfilled, and ultimately more self-actualized.

Plus, meditators have highly sharpened coping practices that they use in stressful scenarios. Regardless of what’s happening in their environment, they moderate their stress levels keeping them low, which guarantees that the response is short-lived and its impact is negligible.

Want to learn some of those powerful coping mechanisms I mentioned? I invite you to join my Mind Shift monthly membership community. Every month we explore tips, tools and techniques for keeping our meditation practice consistent, awakening our best version in any moment, and stepping into the inner power that we all possess. 

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Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess