The symptoms listed above are some of the issues and emotions you might experience for FIGHT Trauma Response
ANGER…Anger is an emotion brought on by the feeling/belief that someone or something has done you wrong with deliberate intent. There are three types of anger; Passive Aggression, Open Aggression, and Assertive Anger. While anger can often be a motivator, it also distracts us from dealing with issues, and causing more anger because issues are not resolved. Your Adrenal Glands flood your body with adrenaline and cortisol which are stress hormones. Health-wise, anger can trigger elevated heart rate levels, and body temperature, as well as elevated blood pressure and pulse.
FRUSTRATION…Frustration is often the first stage of dealing with the pain of feeling helpless, either by not knowing what to do, or how to do something. It builds and leads to yup, you got it… Anger. It is sneaky, slowly coming in to your system, and because it is a quiet emotion it is often lost as a starter of Traumatic Abuse. It starts to slowly erode confidence, can cause sadness, hopelessness, sleep and eating issues as well.
UPSET STOMACH…While not all stomach issues are about Trauma Abuse, they are definitely at the top of the list of issues. Have you ever had “butterflies” in your stomach? They are a response to unsure places, or situations you might be in. Yes, they can be a good feeling as well. We get to that part later 🙂 It is widely publicized that cortisol, the stress hormone listed above decreases the flow of oxygen and blood to the stomach which in turn cause digestion problems, possibly including IBS related issues, and fat retention in the stomach area…Medical advice would be a recommendation.
CRYING…Yes Virginia, there are also Happy Tears and Tears of Joy. More on that later… Remember that feeling of just sobbing and not knowing why? Good news here, the body is probably flushing out stress. Research has shown that crying releases cortisol and adrenaline along with oxytocin and endorphins. It is believed to help with coping with the emotions associated with Trauma Abuse…Again, Medical advice is a recommendation. PBA (Pseudobulbar affect) also has an extreme emotions range. Not trying to scare anyone, just putting it out because of the attention it has received in the past few years…
SUICIDAL THOUGHTS/ACTIONS…Have you ever been at the point where you thought, what the heck, why am I here, I can’t do anything right, I can’t please anyone, no one cares, no one loves me??? I could go on and on, but I know you get the idea. The “full on pit” I refer to in my ABOUT ME area is about suicide contemplation and attempted suicide. The overwhelming feelings that are experienced may make us believe that the people/situations around us that seem to cause so much pain would be better off without us. They all think I am a bad person, so what the heck? INTERVENTION is the key here, I can not stress that enough. When this point is reached there are two things that happen…You follow through and die, or you follow through and live. You are loved by you, and that love will manifest itself when you dig down and find it. Please note I said when not if…From personal experience, I can say there is some part of you that FIGHTS to find yourself. To be clear, I am not a Doctor, but I can say without a doubt Get Help!! If you don’t have someone you can call, use this number.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 988…
Some other signs of FIGHT RESPONSE to look for are:
HIGH ENERGY…We feel invincible at times of need right? With all the symptoms mentioned above, adrenaline plays a huge part in energy.
CONTROLLING…Have you ever felt the need to be a “Control Freak” as we can sometimes be called? When in FIGHT mode we often think that if we could just do it all, there would be no issues right? Trying to use control as a coping mechanism only adds to your negative emotions, and can lead additionally to physical injury from all of the overload and responsibility you feel when you try and take on the world. “If I could just do all this, everything would be okay” is a phrase I have used on myself so many times. I found it very dangerous. Again, it’s time to seek Medical advice. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 988…