What happens when we are scared?

Ever heard of the term 'fight or flight'? It is a reflex in our body that kicks in when we scared or in danger.  Maybe you've been with friends on a run and been feeling extreme peer pressure to perform a jump that you don't feel 100% comfortable with, maybe you've bitten off more than you can chew with a giant cat leap or gap jump? Below is an explanation of what the body goes through in times when we are really scared.
 

The liver extracts phenylalanine from the proteins we eat as part of our diet (chicken, fish, eggs etc) and turns it into tyrosine, before sending it to the adrenal glands.  From here it is used to make the hyper hormone adrenaline.  The hormone is then stored there until we are placed in a dangerous situation. When we sense danger, our brains trigger adrenal glands to release adrenaline into the blood up to 20 times faster than normal. Once adrenaline is in the blood, it goes to receptors on the cell surfaces of the target organs such as lungs, heart, brain and major muscles.  Within a matter of seconds it provokes the 'fight or flight' reaction. Adrenaline has numerous effects on different parts of the body. Here's a breakdown.....1) More blood will travel to our brains which makes our minds keener. 2) Our pupils dilate to make our vision sharpen.  3) Our blood clots more readily to help minimise potential blood loss (in case you bail while doing a cat leap or whatever).  4)  Blood vessels which feed the gastrointestinal tract narrow which slows down our digestion.  5) Blood is diverted to where it is needed most: heart, lungs, brain and skeletal muscles.  6) More blood transports extra oxygen and glucose (fuel) to the arms, legs, back and trunk of the body, which then goes into 'superhuman' mode and sometimes allows us to accomplish feats that would normally be out of reach.  7) Sweat production increases.  8) The heart contracts much more forcefully and pumps out more blood.  9) The airways in the lungs dilate and allow us to take in more oxygen. The adrenaline kick will usually last for one or two minutes, during which time you'll have hopefully dealt with the dangerous situation accordingly. Afterwards your body will most likely go into shut down where you will probably start shaking uncontrollably and feel the need to run off somewhere to urinate. The reason for the toilet rush will be because adrenaline is oxidised and converted into waste products that are shipped out of the body when we pass water.

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