More than you realize, the mere presence of conflicting opinions or arguments can activate your fight-or-flight mode. To protect you, your body orchestrates hundreds of unseen changes in seconds that result in a biological response geared toward emotion-driven, rather than logic-driven, behavior. And through that suppression of coherent thinking, your emotions manifest themselves in familiar ways: a defensive comment, a snide comeback, an angry shout, a slammed door, a loud sigh, tears of frustration.
