It seems that some people are always in some kind of trouble. You may say to yourself, “You would think they would learn.” But some people can’t help themselves. According to Psychology Today, Dr. Mark Leary PHD tells us, “Self-preoccupation lies at the heart of many of life’s difficulties. When people commit crimes, for example, it’s almost always because they have put their own interests so far above other people’s well-being that they steal, rob, assault, murder, or otherwise hurt other people to get what they want. At the extreme, terrorist actions are rooted in abject egocentrism and selfishness, and most wars begin when some party feels justified in attacking someone to obtain some collectively selfish goal. Prejudice and discrimination are fundamentally self-centered reactions, as are greed, deceit, and treating other people unfairly. Many of the conflicts in our personal lives arise from our egocentric conviction that other people should do what we want them to or from their egocentric conviction that we should do what they want.”
Today so many people have what we call Mental Illness, depression being a big factor which can cause eating disorders and anxiety disorders, but then there is bipolar and schizophrenia, psychosis, paranoia which are more severe cases. They can cause us to have symptoms that can affect a person’s thinking, perceptions, mood or behavior, which then can cause us to have relational problems which can cause anger and violence. Of course, when others who may have similar problems with anger and depression and the like, see someone acting out their inhibitions then they too, will run to those people and act out theirs’.
But there is a flip side to this coin and that is those who run from trouble. When even the thought of trouble comes then people run, and that is called the fight-or-flight instinct.
According to Dr. Susan Albers PsyD of the Cleveland Clinic says this, “The fight-or-flight instinct is a heightened state of awareness. It’s your brain’s way of protecting you by scanning the environment for signs of danger and being extremely aware of your surroundings, she says. It’s a mental and physical response to perceived danger. In an attempt to survive, our bodies undergo big physiological changes when we’re threatened. Certain processes — like digestion — slow down.” Meanwhile, Dr. Albers says, “Our bodies get flooded by adrenaline. You have higher blood pressure, your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate and your body prepares itself to respond to the threat. But we can become too cautious or fearful and that is called Hypervigilance”.
Hypervigilance is a basic human survival mechanism, Dr. Albers explains, “It allows us to sense predators and threats to our safety. But with hypervigilance, you feel like you’re constantly under threat.” Put differently, the amygdala — the part of your brain that’s responsible for managing emotions — is on overdrive. Dr. Albers also says, “Hypervigilance is sometimes just a personality trait. Sometimes, a person is just more aware and mindful of their environment or other people’s feelings, but if hypervigilance is chronic or severe, it’s usually a symptom of a mental health disorder. It can cause anxiety and panic disorders, personality disorders, PTSD and CPTSD. Neurodegenerative conditions like dementia. It can be caused by trauma, like growing up in an abusive home.”
One of the things that makes hypervigilance difficult to deal with is the fact that it’s a legitimately helpful instinct. We should all be hypervigilant in certain situations. But when we’re in nonstop fight-or-flight mode, where every noise or shadow makes us want to run, then that can wreak havoc on our bodies, our minds and our relationships. An individual who’s hypervigilant might hear a slight shift in someone’s tone and know not to go there. It may also help you to spot someone whose behavior doesn’t add up, preventing you from getting into a relationship that could be dangerous or hurtful. Dr. Albers also says, “People with extreme hypervigilance can be so tuned in to what is happening that their feelings end up being spot on.” That kind of positive reinforcement can be damaging because it can lead a person who’s hypervigilant to accept their understanding of the world around them. “If a person who’s hypervigilant has enough experiences where they’re spot on, it can almost start to feel like that they can predict the future,” she continues. “That becomes problematic because it leads to over-analyzing, making assumptions and anticipating the worst. Nobody’s gut instinct is always 100% right and we can’t know or control the future.”
Maybe you are not hypervigilant but just cautious. Maybe you just know that it is better to run from trouble than to be part of it. But if someone is in trouble and they need your help then what? Too many people sit on the side lines while someone is either being beaten up or is in real trouble. We have no problem taking out our phones and recording it, but we never stop to think that we can help, even if it is to call the police. Running to join the crowd is not a good thing, but running to help if you can is a good thing. Stop and evaluate the situation and then determine what your response should be.
