According to Norman Schmidt et al., Professor in Psychology at Florida State University, the term, “fight or flight” was first invented by Walter Bradford Cannon in the 1920s, “to describe key behaviors that occur in the context of perceived threat” (Schmidt et al.). Many people in all different fields make decisions almost every day. These decisions greatly rely on the fight or flight response, whether to fight and face a problem head-on, or retreat and choose flight. One example of this is when Simone Biles, an Olympic gymnast decided to pull out of the gymnastics team final in Tokyo because she felt that she was not mentally there, and was unable to pull off a good performance, as stated by Marcus Thompson, a lead columnist at The Athletic, a sports website (Thompson). Even though it may appear that Biles exhibited the flight response in dropping out of the competition, instead of facing it, this may not be the case. Biles knew that dropping out would be best for her mental health, and knew that facing the public’s criticism would be harsh. Biles was able to stand up for her mental health, which shows the fight response. Thompson continues to state that “The key ingredient to courage is vulnerability…To accept the repercussions of being raw and real” (Thompson). Biles showed vulnerability in her decision and in turn showed courage in dropping out. She knew what the repercussions would be, and what people would think, but she stuck by her decision and did what was best for her mental health (Thompson). In facing these fears, Biles exhibited the fight response. The fight response has been shown to yield more positive results than the flight response in education, sports, and the military.

The extensive role of the fight response is particularly evident in education, shaping crucial decisions in emergency situations, for students and educators. Michael Dorn, the Executive Director at Safe Havens International, the world's largest school safety organization, states that “Active contact with armed students has already clearly averted a number of deaths in schools” (Dorn). Dorn mentions the tragedy of the 1998 Thurston High School shooting, where Kip Kinkel decided to shoot up his high school. He walked into the school cafeteria and opened fire, killing one and injuring 23 others. However when he stopped to reload his weapon, a group of students took Kinkel down, preventing the deaths of many others (Dorn). In this incident, the students chose to fight the shooter, instead of fleeing and were successful in stopping the shooter from causing any more harm. It was crucial for the students to resort to the fight response at Thurston High School, and it is just as important at preventing other incidents from occuring. Additionally, students face the fight or flight response daily, in many different ways, as stated by Dr. Gary Jay, a professor at the University of Missouri (Jay). Christina Curley, Director of Advising at Kennesaw State University, states that when students are struggling with their classes, they could be afraid of confronting the disappointment of their professors or advisors, and therefore do not schedule or attend meetings (Curley). Curley states “For these students, the flight response may translate to skipping classes…procrastinating on important tasks, or giving up entirely. Unfortunately, while this may be a short-term solution to escaping danger, it ultimately is only harming the students more and preventing them from reaching their goals” (Curley). Curley asserts that the flight response, triggered by fear of disappointing professors or advisors, can lead students to more negative behaviors that harm them in the long run. In an article published by the Lesley University, it states that students' learning is ultimately hampered by the flight response, as it turns into a destructive coping strategy (“6 Ways Educators…”). Additionally, teachers can play a very important role in helping students by preventing bullying in schools (“6 Ways Educators…”). Lesley University continues to state that “teaching students to speak up when they witness bullying behavior, and to take a stand against it, can reduce future bullying situations by more than 50 percent” (“6 Ways Educators…”). When facing a bullying situation it is important to gain control and to fight back in order to convince the bully to leave you and others alone, writes Evelyn Field, a psychologist who specializes in school bullying (Field). Using the fight response, instead of fleeing from a bully, is very important for getting a bully to back off. Throughout all realms of education, knowing when to choose fight instead of flight is necessary to achieve positive outcomes.

Athletes can also achieve these positive outcomes when choosing the fight response over the flight response in sports. Athletes are constantly faced with a fight or flight reaction leading up to a competitive event, even though the majority of sporting events are not physically harmful to the athlete as stated by Susan Zaro, the founder of Sports Health Counseling at Santa Clara University (Zaro). Athletes who choose to continue on with their sport despite the stressors and obstacles are able to produce amazing results. Thompson explains moments in sports when an athlete was faced with a challenging factor, but chose to fight on. It mentions, “Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game” when he dominated despite food poisoning. Brett Favre producing an all-time gem while grieving the death of his father. Skylar Diggins-Smith playing a WNBA season while pregnant. Kirk Gibson hitting a World Series game-winning home run when he could barely run” (Thompson). In all of these moments in sports history, the athlete was faced with an incredibly hard task but was able to surpass it and carry on. Instead of the athlete succumbing to the pressures and quitting, which would be the flight response, they chose to push on and choose the fight response, and in turn, made memorable moments in sports history. Even though Biles backed out of her Tokyo gymnastics competition when faced with the challenge of her mental health, she showed a different type of fight response, one of courage. Thompson continues to state that, “she understood that telling the truth would get her labeled a quitter…she knew she was going to see the backlash, and hear it, and answer for it…Yet she opted for vulnerability” (Thompson). Biles chose to be vulnerable instead of making excuses for why she could not perform, and that is one of the biggest means of courage. The courage that she needed to be able to fight other people’s judgments and stick up for her mental health. Brené Brown, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, states that showing vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, but of bravery (Balch). Athletes who show vulnerability are not showing weakness, but bravery. Biles has faced many other challenges throughout her life as an athlete, including the sexual assault that she and dozens of other women by Larry Nassar (White). Many other women athletes, who are not professional athletes have also faced dangerous experiences that trigger the fight or flight response, as stated by the Human Kinetics website (“Sexual Abuse in Sport”). The fight response has been shown to protect them. According to Jennifer Rizzo, a writer for The Guardian, a news magazine, “Women who experience sexual harassment and assault while running agree that the effects are long-lasting and significant. But each woman who has been threatened while running is not identical, and neither are the stories of those who run with a gun” (Rizzo). Rizzo tells the story of Jamie, a 40-year-old runner who describes her experiences where she had to use the fight response while running. Jamie states that she was followed around a lake trail by a man at night, who would not leave her alone. She put her hand on her weapon that was concealed up until then and told him to get away. Rizzo states that “Suddenly, Jamie’s aggressor completely changed his demeanor, telling her to, ‘stay safe’, and running away” (Rizzo). Jamie's story, as told by Rizzo, highlights the importance of the fight response when there is no other option or the flight response is ineffective. Jamie demonstrates how showing bravery and strength can quickly change the dynamics of a threatening situation, ensuring personal safety and leading to a positive outcome. Athletes can face the fight or flight response to many different extremes, and as shown, the fight response is superior. This is true for soldiers in the military as well.

In the military, soldiers are constantly faced with quick decisions that they must make, as stated by Katharine Webster, a writer for the University of Massachusetts Lowell (Webster). Military strategies throughout history have emphasized the importance of the fight response over the flight response in war. According to Ben Thomas, a researcher for Discover magazine, the Ancient Spartan and Roman military would train their soldiers to eliminate the flight instinct of running away in the heat of combat. They would enforce this by harshly punishing signs of cowardice and in some cases punishing by death (Thomas). History’s top militaries enforced the fight response, enforcing courage instead of weakness. When Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in 2022, 43 million Ukrainian citizens volunteered to stand up against the Russians and defend their country, as stated by Time Magazine (Bubello). The Ukranian citizens showed the fight response as they protected their land from Russia, which was necessary for holding off the invaders. Additionally, soldiers in the war may not always have a choice on whether they can choose fight or flight, and many times they are forced to fight. Deborah Sharp, a reporter for USA Today states in the Global Policy Forum that in the military, those who refuse to fight “can face court-martial and penalties from dishonorable discharge to prison” (Sharp). When getting a fighting command in the military, it is not in the soldier’s hands whether they do it or not, it is mandatory. The soldier may face severe punishments for not obeying an order (Sharp). It is important for soldiers and in some cases citizens to stand up and fight for their country, instead of cowering or running away and choosing the flight response.

Even though following the fight response is beneficial, this may not always be the case. The study done by Liana Zanette et al., a professor in the Department of Biology at Western University shows a fascinating intersection between the "fight or flight" response and the long-lasting effects in wild animals of predator-induced fear, which is similar to PTSD (Zanette et al.). Zanette et al. state that life-threatening events can have long-lasting effects on the brain and behaviour, as demonstrated by PTSD (Zanette et al.). Zanette et al. continue to state that, “Predator-induced fear had enduring effects on neuronal activation of at least 7 days duration in both the amygdala and hippocampus. Individuals that heard predator vocalizations 7 days previously demonstrated a highly significant, 48% greater level of ΔFosB immunoreactivity (positive cells/mm2) in the amygdala than did those that heard non-predator vocalizations 7 days previously” (Zanette et al.). In other words, the predator experienced a prolonged increase in neuronal activation upon exposure to predator vocalizations. This measure of long-term neural activation implies that fear induced by predators causes long-lasting alterations in brain activity, similar to the effects of PTSD. These results demonstrate the strong and long-lasting effects of predator cues on the fear and memory processing regions of the brain. This is important because it can show that the trigger of the fight or flight response not only has immediate effects but also long-lasting ones, which can ultimately lead to PTSD. Ultimately, while the fight response can usually lead to positive outcomes, sometimes it could lead to very harmful outcomes, such as PTSD. The Mayo Clinic, the top-ranked hospital in the US states that “when stressors are always present and you always feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on” (“The Mayo Clinic”). When stress responses are turned on for too long, this can put a person at health risks such as anxiety and depression (“The Mayo Clinic”). This is another negative of the fight and the flight response.

In conclusion, the positive outcomes of choosing the fight response over the flight response are evident. Fight responses can yield positive results in education, sports, and in the military. While choosing the fight or flight response is not always up to the person, it is important to show courage and face fears, instead of not standing up for an important cause. One can show the fight response in different ways, such as by being vulnerable and showing courage, similar to Simone Biles. When standing up against bullying, school shooters, attackers, or invading armies, the fight response is crucial, to show that you will not give in to fear. However, when the flight or fight response is activated too frequently, it can lead to negative outcomes, so people must be aware of this, and may need help from a medical professional. Facing your fears and choosing to fight instead of flight is becoming increasingly important, and in more ways than one can lead to wonderful outcomes.

Works Cited

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