What is the Fight Response?
When we are faced with a real or perceived threat, the body may shift into a fight response in order to prepare to confront danger.
This can look like:
Anger or irritability
Feeling easily triggered
A strong urge to take control
Defensiveness
Aggression (verbal or physical)
Physiologically, the body may experience:
a surge of adrenaline and cortisol
clenched fists or jaw
tight shoulders
increased heart rate
shallow or rapid breathing
heat in the body
The nervous system shifts into mobilization. According to Stephen Porges and his Polyvagal Theory, this state reflects activation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or- flight). When the brain perceives danger, even subconsciously, it prioritizes survival over connection.
The energy in our body mobilizes when we are in fight response. It is our body’s attempt to survive an overwhelming or dangerous situation.
For trauma survivors, the fight response may become a default pattern, especially if fighting back was once necessary for survival.
As trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk explains in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma is not just a memory, it lives in the body. When the nervous system has learned that the world is unsafe, it may react to present-day stress as though it is past danger.
Similarly, Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing, describes the fight energy as biological survival energy. When that energy is not fully discharged during the original threat, it can become “stuck” in the nervous system.
This is why someone may:
react intensely to small frustrations
feel constantly on edge
experience sudden bursts of anger that feel disproportionate
struggle with control in relationships
feel shame after reacting
The fight response is not a character flaw, it is a nervous system adaptation.
Because the fight response is physiological, healing must include the body.
Talking about anger alone is often not enough. The nervous system needs safe ways to complete the survival response that was interrupted.
Trauma-informed approaches such as EMDR(developed by Francine Shapiro), Somatic Experiencing, and other body-based therapies help process stored survival energy.
Some ways to gently release fight energy include:
pushing against a wall (activates muscles safely)
strength-based movement (lifting weights, boxing, power walking)
vocal release (humming, chanting, yelling into a pillow)
tracking sensations in the body rather than suppressing them
practicing boundaries in safe relationships
The goal is not to eliminate anger. Anger is protective and signals us when something feels unjust or unsafe.
The goal is to help the nervous system learn that it is no longer in danger.
