Fight or flight/Adrenaline (for your character)
So the system for Fight or Flight I'll be explaining is general adaptation syndrome. This will only be a brief look at some of the effects your characters will feel, though they should be more than enough an indicator for you to roleplay them effectively in dangerous situations.
Stage 1 of this would be the alarm reaction. So for this your fight or flight response is activated and you become prepared to run away or fight, or rather your character will. Stage 2 will be the stage of resistance. This is where your characters response to danger is in full swing. Their pupils will dilate. Their heart rate and respiration will increase substantially, and their muscles will contract whilst non essential functions within the body stop or slow.
There is a final stage of course for this system, and it's paramount that when utilising the advantages of adrenaline etc, you include the disadvantages that come afterwards. The state of exhaustion, or stage three, occurs when your normal state is resumed (homeostasis). Your characters heart will slow, as will their breathing, and their muscles will relax whilst non-essential functions start up again. If they have been in the state of hyperarousal too long, then their immune system wears down. This is why when stressed for long periods of time, you are more susceptible to illnesses that make you feel /even/ worse.
How does it work?
A stressor, or whatever is causing the agitation or fear, sends signals to the hypothalamus within your characters body, that when alerted in this way results in the sending of chemical signals to adrenal glands. This activates the sympathetic system, that releases norepinephrine (essentially anti-adrenaline). This can seem wierd but it is injected into your body so you can quickly resume normal bodily functions if this is a false alarm. If it's not a false alarm then great! That means your characters body will immediately be flooded with epinephrine (adrenaline). What this does is give a range of amazing benefits at the cost of quite considerable exhaustion later as stated in the stage of exhaustion.
Benefits
Stage 1 of this would be the alarm reaction. So for this your fight or flight response is activated and you become prepared to run away or fight, or rather your character will. Stage 2 will be the stage of resistance. This is where your characters response to danger is in full swing. Their pupils will dilate. Their heart rate and respiration will increase substantially, and their muscles will contract whilst non essential functions within the body stop or slow.
There is a final stage of course for this system, and it's paramount that when utilising the advantages of adrenaline etc, you include the disadvantages that come afterwards. The state of exhaustion, or stage three, occurs when your normal state is resumed (homeostasis). Your characters heart will slow, as will their breathing, and their muscles will relax whilst non-essential functions start up again. If they have been in the state of hyperarousal too long, then their immune system wears down. This is why when stressed for long periods of time, you are more susceptible to illnesses that make you feel /even/ worse.
How does it work?
A stressor, or whatever is causing the agitation or fear, sends signals to the hypothalamus within your characters body, that when alerted in this way results in the sending of chemical signals to adrenal glands. This activates the sympathetic system, that releases norepinephrine (essentially anti-adrenaline). This can seem wierd but it is injected into your body so you can quickly resume normal bodily functions if this is a false alarm. If it's not a false alarm then great! That means your characters body will immediately be flooded with epinephrine (adrenaline). What this does is give a range of amazing benefits at the cost of quite considerable exhaustion later as stated in the stage of exhaustion.
Benefits
- Agility improves, allowing the character to take more info in and helps them to use more energy in bursts.
- Their muscles will contract faster and more, as a result of more oxygen reaching the muscles due to increased blood flow. This means that the character will become stronger and faster than was ever possible in their parasympathetic state (normal state).
- Glycogen stores are turned into fuel (glucose) because of the adrenaline, becoming essentially a carbohydrate that gives energy to muscles.
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