Fight or Flight: Your anxiety might be doing you more good than you think
Believe it or not, being a hyper anxious person could actually help you to become more successful in life.
Are you a Nervous Nellie who can’t sit still for long? Do your friends and family describe you as highly-strung, wound-too-tight, or neurotic?
Perhaps you’re just wired with a hale and hearty fight-or-flight response. Believe it or not, this may actually be a good thing.
Existing in a heightened state of arousal means you are always primed for action, and you react to your surroundings and circumstances with animal-like stealth. If used properly, your overactive fight-or-flight response won’t just help you survive in the world, it might even help you out-run the pack.
The term “fight or fllight” was coined in 1915 by doctor and physiologist Walter Cannon to describe the body’s biological response to stress, when the sympathetic nervous system reacts to perceived dangers in its environment by flooding the bloodstream with the stimulant hormone cortisol.
Also known as the “stress hormone”, cortisol mobilises the brain and body, preparing it for action. But cortisol needs a physical release, otherwise, it can wreck havoc by raising blood pressure, sugar levels, and cholesterol, contributing to weight gain and heart…
