User:Fwilliamson3/Fight-or-flight response

Emotional Components

Emotional regulation refers to one's ability to regulate their own emotions, particularly in overly stimulating or challenging situations. For example, emotional regulation of anger could include focusing on something more positive or happy to diffuse the anger. In the context of the fight or flight response, emotional regulation is used proactively to avoid threats of stress or to control the level of emotional arousal. In controlling one's level of emotional arousal, there are several relevant strategies employed by humans and other beings. One such strategy is "attention deployment" where the subject actively diverts their attention from the threatening or provoking stimulus to another stimulus. Similarly, the affected person may engage in "situation selection" where they divert their attention from a threatening stimulus to either a neutral or unthreatening stimuli in the hopes of preventing negative emotions like anger or fear from forming. Emotional regulation as it relates to the fight-or-flight response may be impaired if the subject has high levels of anxiety or aggression that override the functionality of the system in which case the subject may involve themselves in maladaptive behaviors.

Emotional Reactivity:

'''During the reaction, the intensity of emotion that is brought on by the stimulus will also determine the nature and intensity of the behavioral response. Individuals with higher levels of emotional reactivity may be prone to anxiety and aggression, which illustrates the implications of appropriate emotional reaction in the fight or flight response.''' Specifically, individuals that have been exposed to high levels of trauma, and have developed corresponding disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), will often skip evaluation of a stimuli and jump straight into selecting a fight, flight, or freeze response. Emotional reactivity may further be impacted by different traits, personality factors, and situations. For example, people who are higher in trait anger will be more likely to "fight" in a fight-or-flight situation, whereas those higher in trait anxiety will be more likely to "freeze" in a fight-or-flight situation.

Note: Bold signifies what was already in the section prior to my edits

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