The "fight-or-flight" response is your body's built-in response to stress. When faced with a challenging or threatening situation, your body produces adrenaline, which increases your heart and breathing rate and improves your response time. Many things, called stressors, can trigger this response. A stressor can be a physical danger, a high-pressure activity, or even performing in public. In most cases, your body relaxes and the adrenalin fades once the situation is resolved. When your "fight-or-flight" response continues, though, or is triggered by a concern or preoccupation with something that might happen, it becomes anxiety, a state of worry that has negative effects on your health. How you choose to manage stress cope with anxiety can have long-term effects on your well-being, so it's important to understand the difference and how to deal with them.

Originally released by Cambridge Educational, 2019. Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on July 08, 2019.

Keep Your Anxiety and Stress in Check (6:45); .