Which response does survival stress induce?

• A. Calm, Focus, Readiness
• B. Hypervigilance
• C. Fight or Flight
• D. Decompression

Answer: (C)

Survival stress triggers the fight-or-flight response, the body's automatic preparation for danger. The sympathetic nervous system floods the body with adrenaline and other hormones, increasing heart rate and breathing, widening the pupils, and redirecting blood to the muscles. Energy is mobilized quickly to power either confrontation or escape, while nonessential functions like digestion slow down. This rapid, action-oriented state is why fight or flight is the best description of the immediate response to acute threat. Hypervigilance can accompany stress, but it isn’t the primary automatic reaction to a sudden danger, and decompression or a calm, trained readiness state don’t capture that rapid physiological surge.