Understanding Anxiety and the Fight-or-Flight Response: What Activation Really Means (Different State Series – Part 2)
Episode 120: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
View transcript on Buzzsprout
Anxiety isn’t just in your head—it’s a full-body experience that demands a full-body understanding. If your chest tightens, your thoughts race, and you feel like you’re bracing for something you can’t quite name, you’re likely in a nervous system state called activation.
In this episode, Amanda unpacks the fight-or-flight response with nuance and depth. Instead of trying to talk yourself out of anxiety, she invites you to get curious about what your body is trying to protect you from.
What We Cover in This Episode
- What the fight-or-flight state actually is (and why it’s not inherently bad)
- The physiological shifts that occur during activation
- The difference between fight vs. flight responses
- Somatic and parts-based tools that help complete the stress cycle
What Activation Really Is
Activation is governed by your sympathetic nervous system—your body’s built-in mobilization system. It prepares you to act: to run, to defend, to protect. In the wild, that looked like escaping predators. Today, it might look like obsessing over a deadline, snapping at your partner, or pacing the kitchen at 2am.
This state often gets labeled as “anxiety,” but it’s broader than that. It includes irritability, urgency, overthinking, and a need to do something. Your body is flooded with energy. And while that’s not inherently harmful, it becomes problematic when it becomes your baseline.
The Physiology of Activation
In activation, your:
- Heart rate speeds up
- Breathing becomes shallow
- Muscles tense
- Digestion slows
- Pupils dilate
- Vision narrows
- Thoughts race
This is a stress response. It’s intelligent, adaptive, and very old. But it can’t distinguish between a real tiger and a tense email. And that mismatch? It fuels chronic anxiety.
Your nervous system can’t tell the difference between a predator and a packed Google calendar.
Inside Restore, our coaches works with clients to map their unique nervous system patterns and understand what keeps them stuck in this state.
Fight vs. Flight: Two Flavors of Activation
Though both are part of the same nervous system state, they show up differently:
- Fight often looks like anger, defensiveness, or control.
- Flight often shows up as panic, perfectionism, or restlessness.
Understanding your dominant pattern can help you choose tools that work with your body, not against it.
Why Traditional Advice Often Backfires
Trying to calm down in this state usually doesn’t work. That’s because:
- Logical thinking is harder when your prefrontal cortex is offline.
- Your body is mobilized. It wants to move, not meditate.
- Forced stillness can feel like danger, not relief.
Instead, Amanda shares how to meet activation with movement, breath, and co-regulation. This is how we help the body complete the stress cycle, not override it.
What Keeps You Stuck in This State
Chronic activation isn’t random. It often stems from:
- A life that is too full, too fast, or too much
- Unresolved physiological stressors (blood sugar, hormones, inflammation)
- Situations that echo past unsafe experiences
- Burdened parts carrying old trauma or beliefs
It’s so important to explore which of these factors are driving YOUR baseline anxiety and to find an approach and learn tools that match the true root of your stress.
Tools That Work With Your Body In Activation
The goal isn’t to force calm. It’s to meet your system where it is. And remember, there’s no “right” or “perfect” tool, every nervous system responds differently to various somatic practices. Here’s a list of general tools that tend to the unique physiology and psychology of Activation, but it’s through personal experimentation you’ll find the best ones for you.
Movement Tools
- Shake out limbs
- Push against a wall
- March in place
Breath Tools
- Physiological sigh (inhale-inhale-exhale)
- Blow out like cooling soup
- Focus on lengthening exhales
Visual + Sensory Tools
- Peripheral vision activation
- Color spotting
- Cold water or textured grounding
Vocal + Co-Regulation Tools
- Humming, singing, self-talk
- Presence of a calm person or pet
Parts Work Prompts
- What would help it feel less alone?
- What part of me is activated right now?
- What is it afraid of?
Three Tangible Takeaways
- Anxiety is activation, not a character flaw. Your body is trying to protect you. That’s not weak. That’s wise.
- Activation needs movement, not mental tricks. Trying to logic your way out rarely works. Instead, move, breathe, orient, and co-regulate.
- You don’t have to live here forever. Tools are scaffolding. The deeper work is about creating a life your nervous system doesn’t have to fight or flee from.
Looking for more personalized support?
- Book a FREE discovery call for RESTORE, our 1:1 anxiety & depression coaching program (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
- Join me inside the Regulated Living Membership, a mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available)
- Join my Release Class – Monthly guided nervous system regulation class
- Order my book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
