The fight or flight stress response is our body’s evolutionary way of protecting us from danger. When we perceive a threat, our bodies gear up for battle or to flee the scene. Either way, the goal is to achieve safety and return back to a normal and calm state. But what happens when we don’t return to feeling calm and our bodies continue to perceive threat after threat, stressor after stressor? This is when you might find yourself in a fight or flight hangover: Well rested, but exhausted. Sound familiar? It’s all too familiar for me, as I finally return to my love of writing after a long and tiresome break of refueling my body and rediscovering my joy. If this has happened to you, keep reading to learn why this hangover happens and how you can take care of your body and mind to relieve it.
Why Fight or Flight is a Good Thing
Throughout evolution, humans have experienced life or death situations that we perceive as threatening. The learned response that our bodies have to these situations is called fight or flight, and it is one of the greatest survival mechanisms that we have. When we feel threatened, our bodies have actually learned to trigger a physical and psychological response that makes us more alert, increases physical energy and abilities, improves cognitive functioning like problem solving, and even boosts our immune system to keep us healthy. This is accomplished through a release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These are strong and impactful in the moment, helping our bodies and minds to persevere in stressful situations. But like anything, they can become dangerous when overused.
How Fight or Flight Has (or Hasn’t) Adapted to Modern Times
In modern times, our bodies can so easily fall into a state of fight or flight from constant connection to stressors, busy lifestyles, and emotional distress. We jump from one stressful situation to the next, checking each one off in the box on our to do list, only to continue the cycle of tackling the next. Confused and motivated to survive, our bodies feel the need to continue pushing out the fight or flight response to make us strong and effective. But as you can imagine, this is physically and mentally taxing. It was never meant to last for long durations.
When it continues to last and there is no rest, our bodies fall into a state of chronic stress. And when there is finally a chance to rest and recuperate, you will more than likely find yourself in a fight or flight hangover, where you are more exhausted than you ever were before. You might even find yourself getting sick the second you have a chance to take a rest, because your body realizes it can finally take a break too.
Curing the Fight or Flight Hangover
So what do we do when we realize our bodies have shut down? When we haven’t given ourselves rest, so we get sick or feel unshakable fatigue? This is what a lot of people might call burnout. Excuses are easily made and glorified for reaching a state of burnout, like working too hard or being too busy. Wouldn’t everyone love to talk about how busy they are or how much they’re accomplishing? It makes for great conversation and feelings of personal success, but there is truly a dark side to doing too much. Putting it into chemical terms, I like to call the aftermath of these prolonged bursts of energy the fight or flight hangover. It’s what happens when you have put your body through something excessive, like immense periods of stress, and it will take time, rest, and nourishment to recover.
While it would be ideal to catch burnout before it begins (here are 5 signs to watch for), the reality is that sometimes we don’t feel we have a choice to stop. Or, we don’t even see our energy dwindling as it happens in real time. If you have already reached a point where you are experiencing the fight or flight hangover, the good news is, that probably means that you’ve taken a moment to rest. This is a good thing! You might feel frustrated that you don’t feel rested, but this just shows how badly your body needed it.
In these moments, it is so important to avoid reverting back to your previous patterns. Instead, do some reflecting or journaling about how you got to this point. If you are able to, it can be incredibly useful to take the time to see a therapist and talk about the thoughts and behaviors that have led you here. Do you feel an obligation to always be busy, an inability to say no, a lack of prioritization on self care? There are so many unique ways that we can allow ourselves to accept stress for unforgiving durations of time, and understanding why is a key first step. But the most important step is to allow yourself to slow down.
Give yourself permission to listen to your body when it shows signs of needing rest. Make self-care a non-negotiable thing in your life, even if it’s just making time for one small and positive change. Things like carving out time for physical activity, getting enough sleep, eating nourishing foods, doing a hobby you enjoy, connecting with loved ones, or even having an occasional rot day on the couch can make a big difference. Figure out what recharges you, what inspires you, and make it a regular priority. If you don’t make the time to take care of yourself, your body will force you to eventually, and it will be much tougher to recover from the fight or flight hangover that likely follows.