Have you ever wondered how ordinary people sometimes display superhuman strength in dangerous situations? I certainly have, and the science behind it is absolutely fascinating.
Back in 2006, The Globe and Mail reported an extraordinary incident that perfectly illustrates this phenomenon. A 41-year-old woman named Lydia Angio was walking with her children in a remote village in Quebec, Canada, when they suddenly encountered a massive polar bear weighing over 660 pounds.
In that terrifying moment, Lydia told her children to run for their lives while she stood her ground to distract the bear. But she didn’t just stand there—in a surge of fear mixed with intense anger, she actually attacked the bear herself! She began punching it with her bare hands, and even when the bear knocked her to the ground, she continued fighting back, kicking relentlessly.
This desperate standoff continued until a hunter passing by fired several warning shots into the air, scaring the bear away. Lydia and her children survived, and she later received a national award for her bravery and ability to protect her family.
Pretty incredible, right?
While this story seems extraordinary, many of us have experienced similar (though perhaps less dramatic) situations. Think about it—have you ever been chased by a dog as a kid and suddenly found yourself running faster than you ever thought possible? Or been so angry that you broke something surprisingly sturdy with your bare hands? And afterward, you probably wondered, “How on earth did I do that?”
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What Actually Happens in Your Body During Danger
These remarkable reactions stem from your body’s rapid physiological response. Inside your brain, there’s something called the amygdala—two small almond-shaped structures located in the temporal lobe. The amygdala’s job is to constantly monitor for danger signals through direct connections with your external senses like sight, hearing, smell, and touch, plus its ability to process emotions and feelings.
The amygdala is essentially studying everything happening around you. Using incoming information, it determines whether you’re in danger, and if so, it immediately alerts your body and takes necessary action. That’s why scientists often describe the amygdala as your body’s internal alarm system.
But what exactly happens during moments of danger? What are these rapid responses the amygdala triggers when someone faces a threat, dangerous situation, or even just psychological pressure like being startled or angered?
When threatened, the amygdala prepares your body to defend itself through several immediate changes:
- The Adrenaline Rush: First, it signals your endocrine glands—specifically the adrenal glands—to release their star hormone: adrenaline. Once adrenaline enters your bloodstream, it makes your heart and lungs work much faster and causes your blood vessels to constrict. This helps send massive amounts of blood and oxygen to your major muscle groups in your arms and legs, preparing you to either run incredibly fast or punch with tremendous force. Adrenaline also heightens your vision and hearing to maximum alertness.
- Cortisol Production: Your body also produces cortisol, which helps access glucose (sugar) stores in your body, giving you an additional energy boost.
- Endorphin Release: During anger, your body releases endorphins that reduce pain and increase your pain tolerance.
All of this happens in mere seconds—sometimes even fractions of a second. With these combined resources—strength flooding into your muscles, heightened alertness and focus, and reduced pain sensation—you temporarily transform from an ordinary person into what feels like a fighting machine. It’s only temporary, but in that moment, it can be the difference between life and death.
Why We Can’t Harness This Power All the Time
This might make you wonder: if we have this incredible power within us, why can’t scientists develop ways for us to access it whenever we want?
The truth is, it’s not that simple. The enormous energy that emerges during anger isn’t actually healthy—your body pays a price afterward, especially if it happens too frequently. God, in His mercy, designed this anger mechanism to exist in our bodies so we can handle emergency situations with a quick burst of strength and energy to respond to threats and save our lives—exactly like what happened with Lydia at the beginning of this post.
But this definitely shouldn’t be our default way of living. While short-term adrenaline release as a response to an emergency is natural and harmless, continuous adrenaline production can lead to serious health problems over time, such as hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks. We often hear about people suffering heart attacks because they became extremely angry or upset.
Add to that the fact that not feeling pain is actually dangerous in itself. The hormones released during anger primarily function by numbing pain. So when you’re angry and lift something incredibly heavy, it doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly become stronger—yes, the hormones gave you an energy boost, but not to a superhuman degree. What’s happening is that when you lift something heavy or break something while angry, the pain-suppressing hormones prevent you from feeling the immediate pain. But after the effect wears off, you start feeling the pain in places where bones may have fractured or muscles torn.
The Mental Cost of Anger
Beyond physical damage, anger impairs our ability to make good decisions. We’ve all heard advice like “never make decisions when you’re angry,” and science confirms this wisdom.
Rational thinking and decision-making are primarily controlled by a region of the brain called the cerebral cortex. However, during anger, the amygdala reacts and triggers hormone release before the cerebral cortex has a chance to verify if our reaction is appropriate. This makes it extremely difficult to make sound decisions or think clearly and wisely when we’re angry.
Taming the Beast Within
Many of us regret how quickly we express our anger and later feel remorse for our actions. Here are a few tips to help reduce anger episodes, because managing anger isn’t just important for improving your mood—it’s crucial for protecting your physical health and preventing many diseases:
- Seek refuge with God from Satan. When angry, try to remain silent as much as possible, especially if the situation involves someone close to you. If you allow yourself to speak while angry, you might become more agitated and say things you’ll later regret.
- Change your physical state. During anger, try to leave the space you’re in or at least change your position. If you’re standing, sit down; if you’re sitting, get up and walk around a bit. Physical activity helps reduce nervous tension.
- Talk it out with someone you trust. There’s no harm in discussing what’s bothering you with someone you trust. Usually, a person outside the problem can see things more clearly.
- Remember the Prophet’s wisdom. Abu Hurairah reported that a man asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for advice, and he said, “Do not become angry.” The man repeated his request several times, and each time the Prophet replied, “Do not become angry.”
Understanding how our bodies work during moments of stress and danger can help us better manage our reactions and protect both our physical and mental health. While that surge of strength might save us in emergencies, learning to control our anger in everyday situations might just save our lives in the long run.
Have you ever experienced unusual strength during a frightening or angering situation? What was it like, and how did you handle it? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!
