Most people have heard of the “fight-or-flight” response, but few realize just how much it can influence day-to-day symptoms. This response evolved to protect us — a built-in emergency system designed to keep us alive when our ancestors faced real danger. Under normal circumstances, it helps us respond appropriately to short bursts of stress and then quickly return to a state of calm.
For many Michigan patients who come into my office, that calming phase never fully happens. Instead, the nervous system learns to stay on high alert even when there is no immediate danger. This chronic state of alarm becomes one of the core triggers of immune imbalance — a foundational part of the Root Cause Triad that guides the work we do at the Restorative Medicine Center.
More and more people throughout Michigan are noticing persistent anxiety, constant fatigue, unexplained pain, digestive issues, and sleep disruption that don’t respond to conventional treatments. They’re searching for answers because the traditional symptom-focused approach simply doesn’t explain why their body feels threatened in the first place.
What the Fight-or-Flight Response Actually Is
Your nervous system has a remarkably sophisticated way of detecting danger. It starts with the amygdala, the brain’s sentinel. It constantly scans the environment for anything that feels threatening — sometimes real, sometimes perceived, sometimes triggered by internal processes you’re not consciously aware of.
If the amygdala senses danger, it activates the sympathetic nervous system and the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). This cascade signals the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, as well as inflammatory molecules that mobilize the body for quick action. Heart rate increases, muscles tense, vision sharpens, digestion slows, and the entire system gears up for survival.
Why the System Gets “Stuck On”
The problem arises when the nervous system remains activated long after the threat has passed — or when the threat is internal and ongoing. In my practice, I commonly see several drivers that can keep the fight-or-flight response locked in place:
- Chronic infections such as Borrelia, Bartonella, or Babesia, which generate constant internal signaling that something dangerous is happening.
- Mold and other biotoxins that continuously provoke the immune system and the limbic system.
- Environmental toxicants like heavy metals or pesticides that subtly irritate and overstimulate the nervous system.
- Emotional and psychological stressors — past trauma, chronic caregiving stress, medical trauma from years of not being believed — which reinforce the survival circuitry.
Fight-or-Flight Symptoms
Physical Symptoms Many Michigan Patients Report
- Rapid or pounding heartbeat
- Shortness of breath or the sensation of “air hunger”
- Muscle tension, tremors, restlessness
- Digestive symptoms such as nausea, urgency, bloating, or IBS-like patterns
- Temperature swings, sweating, chills
- Dizziness, derealization, or “tunnel vision”
- Persistent exhaustion despite feeling wired or unable to relax
Emotional and Cognitive Symptoms
- Excessive worry or a heightened startle response
- Feeling constantly “on guard”
- Racing or intrusive thoughts
- Irritability or emotional volatility
- Difficulty focusing, organizing thoughts, or remembering information
- Sleep disturbances — trouble falling asleep, early waking, vivid nightmares
Long-Term Impacts of an Overactive Stress Response
When this system remains activated, the downstream consequences affect nearly every biological pathway:
- Immune system imbalance and chronic inflammation
- Hormonal imbalances due to disrupted signaling
- Reduced detoxification capacity
- Higher risk of chronic infections taking hold
- Development or worsening of autoimmune tendencies
How the Restorative Medicine Center in Rochester Hills Evaluates Chronic Fight-or-Flight States
The Root Cause Triad Framework
The Root Cause Triad is the model we use to organize all the major contributors to immune imbalance and chronic inflammation. For many Michigan patients stuck in fight-or-flight, each section of this triad plays a role.
Microbes
These include primary infections such as Borrelia, Bartonella, Babesia, and other vector-borne organisms common in the Midwest. They also include secondary infections, viral reactivations, and fungal overgrowth. Microbes can produce biotoxins, irritate the nervous system, and trigger persistent immune activation.
Toxins
Exposure to mold, mycotoxins, heavy metals, chemical pollutants, pesticides, and fragrances can overstimulate the body’s danger pathways. Many of these toxins directly impact the limbic system, mitochondria, and detoxification pathways, leaving the body feeling threatened.
Stress Response
Emotional stress, medical trauma, chronic life strain, or unresolved past experiences can powerfully imprint on the nervous system. When combined with microbial and toxic triggers, this creates a system that struggles to shut off the alarm signals.
How These Interact
Microbes, toxins, and stress physiology form a self-reinforcing cycle. A chronic infection may make the body more sensitive to toxins. Toxins may increase emotional reactivity. Emotional stress makes immune regulation less stable. Together, they create a pattern of immune imbalance and inflammation that keeps the nervous system in a constant state of high alert.
Targeted Testing Strategies
Because these issues can be subtle—and often missed by conventional evaluations—we use targeted tests designed to identify the deeper physiologic triggers.
CIRS Biomarkers
We evaluate markers such as C4a, TGF-β1, MMP-9, VEGF, and ECP, which help identify biotoxin-driven inflammation and immune dysregulation.
Immunoglobulin Levels
Patterns in IgG, IgA, and IgM help us understand whether your immune system is overworked, under-functioning, or stuck in a chronic activation cycle.
Cortisol Testing
Salivary, urine, or serum cortisol assessments reveal whether your HPA axis is in overdrive, fatigued, or fluctuating unpredictably.
Thyroid and Adrenal Function
Because chronic stress disrupts hormone signaling, we look at TSH, free T4, free T3, reverse T3, and adrenal markers to understand how the body is compensating.
Mycotoxin Testing
This helps identify ongoing mold exposure or internal colonization, both of which can keep the nervous system signaling danger.
Tick-Borne and Vector-Borne Panels
Testing for Borrelia, Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and others is essential for Michigan patients, given our regional prevalence of vector-borne infections.
Symptom and Treatment Timeline Tracking
Tracking how your symptoms change with each supplement, medication, or lifestyle shift allows us to see clear cause-and-effect patterns. This bypasses guesswork and helps us determine:
- Which treatments your body tolerates
- Which ones drive improvement
- Which trigger stress responses or flares
- Whether symptoms correlate with infections, detoxification, hormonal shifts, or environmental exposures
Treatment Approach: Helping the Nervous System Stand Down
Stabilizing the Body First (“Stay Calm”)
A foundational part of our approach involves helping your nervous system recognize that it is safe enough to heal.
This includes:
- Nervous system regulation practices
- Breathing exercises and gentle, mindful movement
- Pacing strategies that respect your body's current capacity
- Circadian rhythm restoration and sleep optimization
Addressing the Root Causes
Once the system can tolerate deeper work, we begin addressing the major drivers inside the Root Cause Triad.
Treating Microbial Drivers
This may involve treating primary infections (Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia) as well as secondary or opportunistic microbes that thrive when the immune system is overwhelmed.
Removing Biotoxins and Mold Exposure
We work together to identify and remove external exposures, support the body’s detoxification pathways, and reduce the internal production of biotoxins.
Supporting Detoxification Pathways
We address the glucuronidation, methylation, and mitochondrial systems that help clear toxins and optimize cellular resilience.
Correcting Nutrient Deficiencies
Low magnesium, B-vitamins, minerals, and amino acids can destabilize the stress response, so we correct these gradually and strategically.
Gradual, Individualized Treatment Pacing
Healing is not linear, and your body will tell us exactly how fast we can go.
We move forward slowly and strategically to prevent crashes:
- Introducing treatments carefully
- Watching for Herxheimer reactions or toxin mobilization
- Adjusting the pace based on tolerance
- Building stability before increasing intensity
Longer-Term Strategies for Nervous System Resilience
Once the root causes are under control, we shift into strengthening the system for the long haul:
- Limbic system retraining
- Reducing EMF exposure
- Improving indoor air quality
- Nutrition strategies that support neurotransmitter balance and metabolic resilience
Reclaim Your Calm—Start Healing Your Nervous System Today
If you’re living in a state of constant hyperarousal—wired yet exhausted, overwhelmed by symptoms no one has been able to explain—your body is signaling that something deeper is going on. When the stress response can’t shut off, it is often because microbes, biotoxins, or physiologic stressors are continually triggering the system.
At the Restorative Medicine Center, our focus is helping you understand why this is happening, and developing a clear, individualized plan that allows your body to finally feel safe again. If you’re ready to dig deeper into the true causes of your symptoms, we’re here to guide you.
Restorative Medicine Center Dr. Teresa Birkmeier-Fredal, MD
705 Barclay Circle, Suite 115
Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Phone: 248-289-6349
Website: www.restorativemedcenter.com