13 February 2011

Fight or Flight?

The title for this blog entry comes from a study of something called 'fight-or-flight response', a phrase first coined a physiologist called Walter Bradford Cannon. He was studying the basic response in animals to a threat, and noted the automatic response to danger that makes changes in the body, making the animal ready for defensive action, either fighting or running away.

In times of stress, hormones like adrenalin are released, speeding up the heart rate, slowing digestion, redirecting blood to the muscles and changing the body's autonomic functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength.

These same effects can be seen in humans, however in modern society this response can cause problems. Modern day stresses (e.g., a bad day at work) could trigger this response, however neither fight (physical violence) nor flight (running away from the problem) are possible. If an individual is unable to control this response, it may surface as stress - a natural reaction if he or she is faced with a situation where they see no easy escape route.

By its very nature, the fight-or-flight response bypasses the individual's rational mind, so some irrational behaviour may surface, even if the perceived 'threat' does not stand up to close examination. When things get much too 'hot', the individual may do something quite 'out of character'. I think that's why we see increased incidents of irrational behaviour in situations when there is no way out - like incidents of 'road rage' in the middle of a traffic jam

When the 'threat' is gone, the body's autonomic functions are designed to return to normal, but there are recorded cases involving chronic stress where this doesn’t happen. Extreme incidents of stress have been known to cause other psychological problems, or can surface as physical symptoms, such as a rash.

I've been looking at incidents in scripture of extreme stress, and am led once again to the Book of Job. His story is certainly one where no easy escape route was visible! Job suffered more than his fair share of problems and suffering.

Job's reaction to the news that all of his children have been killed in a storm is an eye-opener:

Job 1:21 (New International Version, ©2010)
...and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Is what is generally recalled as the "patience of Job" really a reluctance of Job to accept or come to terms with alarming news? Job certainly started to develop unusual physical symptoms (see later chapters, a rash that covered his body). Unable to fight against this torrent of awful incidents and certainly unable to run away from them, he would be suffering from extremes of stress, and even suffering denial that he is in a really bad place!

The final message from the Book of Job is one of perseverence. It calls on all of us to recognise our own limitations and to put our trust in God in all circumstances, even when we don't understand why. It does not give us any answers as to why there is suffering in this world - but it gives us the encouragement to hang on and not give up. To fight, and not to run away.

It is interesting to note that once Job had finally experienced God and had realised that God had not forsaken him, his hope returned and he began to get better.

Just to complete this entry, there are of course occasions where flight is the correct reaction - we need to flee from situations which may put us into harm:

1 Corinthians 6:18
1 Timothy 6:9-11
2 Timothy 2:22

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