It was a moonless night with a light breeze blowing from the south. Walking alone in the dark she could see and hear the others go about their routine activities. She was not really listening but was occasionally startled by the loud noises in the distance. Suddenly, she tensed. She felt rather than saw the danger signals. Her ears pricked up and she became sensitive to the sights and sounds around her. Turn¬ing in every direction, she tried to pinpoint the source of her unease—maybe it was the rustle of a body or the silent footstep; she could not be sure.
The next moment, all hell broke loose as she saw him right in front of her. The mas¬sive figure loomed and bounded straight at her. The stark sight awoke her primordial instinct for survival honed over millions of years through the process of evolution that had built her superb response mechanism. Her heart started pound¬ing thigh muscles quivered and nostrils flared; with no time to think, she ran for her life. Her pursuer was not so easily put off and, putting on an extra burst of energy, he managed to get within striking distance.
She could feel his hot breath and the next moment she felt as if a strong claw had ripped her back. She was dimly aware ofthe pain and the injury but continued with her flight. Dodging and weaving, she escaped to a nearby area. Her sharpened senses told her that she was in a familiar area. She could picture a nook, just behind those massive trees where she could hide. Her pursuer was nowhere to be seen and she stood there panting. As she regained her breath, she felt the agonizing pain from her wounds and, for the first time, she realized the extent of her injuries. She was really lucky to have es¬caped—it could have been much worse! The deer whipped her tail in relief as she tried to regain her breath!
This is the drama that unfolds practically every night in the savannah or in the jungles, as a tiger, cheetah or some other predator chases a smaller animal. How does the prey respond to the threat of the carnivore intent on killing it? It is remarkable, that within seconds of sensing danger, its heart starts pumping vigorously, muscles get ready for action, and the adrenaline starts flowing. Senses sharpen and the pain is almost forgotten.
Luckily, we humans do not spend our days and nights fleeing from predators or wrestling down our dinner! Most of the diseases that afflicted our ancestors are no longer fatal. We are fortunate to live in an age of tremendous medical advances. As a result, our diseases and causes of death are far different from those which dogged our ancestors. The big¬gest difference is that the dangers we face are not physical but psychological in nature. It seems that evolution (the pro¬cess of natural selection) has not kept pace with these ad¬vances and our body’s response in the face of stress (whether psychological or physical) is the same.
The opening para¬graph of this article described the flight of an animal facing a predator. The body’s responses are superbly adapted to deal with such a situation. It should be obvious that activating these same responses when there is no physical danger is not a good idea. We try explore the effects of psychological stress, our body’s maladapted stress response and its conse¬quences in these articles. Finally, we look at some ways to reduce the effects of stress and to improve our health.