In the face of a potential threat, your brain often reacts by activating a “fight, flight, or freeze” response to keep you safe. By releasing hormones, your body prepares you to do whatever is necessary—as the name suggests, that includes fighting, fleeing, or freezing—to keep you alive.

While that response is helpful in times of danger, your body sometimes overuses it. And that can cause stress, wreaking havoc on the body and the mind.

Different people present stress in entirely different ways. For example, one person may lay awake at night, mindlessly scrolling through social media, unable to rest their eyes. On the other hand, their partner may sleep soundly through the night but constantly forgets their keys and becomes incredibly irritable around important deadlines.

Here’s what you need to know about the effects of your body’s “fight, flight, or freeze” response and how to relieve stress.