Understanding the “Flight” Response: Anxiety, Avoidance, and Feeling Safe
Dr. Rick and I discuss the “flight” response to stress, which includes feelings of anxiety and fear, avoidant behavior, and an underlying sense of insecurity. We explore the emotions and behaviors associated with the flight response, and how we can build up a stronger, more secure sense of who we are. Rick shares some practical tools that will help you change your self-concept, safely apply principles from graduated exposure, and feel safer from the inside-out.
I’ve loved this series on the stress responses, and think you’ll get a lot out of this episode.
You can watch this episode on YouTube.
Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction
1:00: The purpose of the flight response, and when it is and isn’t useful
5:35: Social withdrawal, conflict avoidance, and preserving safety vs. comfort
12:15: The trouble with low likelihood, high-cost risks
16:35: Exploring our capacity for stress, and identifying the risks worth taking
26:30: Feeling “sturdy,” and why we choose the flight response vs. other stress responses
33:30: Graduated exposure
39:05: Learning to trust our new capabilities as we change
44:50: Overdoing a change as a form of self-sabotage, and reserving the power to flee
54:25: Responding to anxiety
1:01:40: Being present with painful situations we can’t escape
1:08:40: Recap
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