LIVING OUR LIMBIC LEGACY 31rected our body to adopt this tactic judiciously over millennia in order to
escape from danger.
In our modern world, however, where we live in cities and not in the
wild, it is difficult to run from threats; therefore we have adapted the
flight response to meet our modern needs. The behaviors are not as obvi-
ous, but they serve the same purpose—to either block or distance our-
selves from the physical presence of undesirable individuals or things.
If you think back on the social interactions you’ve had in your life,
you’ll probably be able to recall some of the “evasive” actions you took to
distance yourself from the unwanted attention of others. Just as a child
turns away from undesirable food at the dinner table and shifts her feet
toward the exit, an individual may turn away from someone she doesn’t
like, or to avoid conversations that threaten her. Blocking behaviors may
manifest in the form of closing the eyes, rubbing the eyes, or placing the
hands in front of the face.
The person may also distance herself from someone by leaning away,
placing objects (a purse) on her lap, or turning her feet toward the near-
est exit. All of these behaviors are controlled by the limbic brain and
indicate that someone wants distance from one or more undesirable
persons or any perceived threat in the environment. Again, we under-
take these behaviors because, for millions of years, humans have with-
drawn from things we didn’t like or that could harm us. Therefore, to
this day, we expedite our exit from a deplorable party, distance ourselves
from a bad relationship, or lean away from those who are deemed unde-
sirable or even with whom we strongly disagree (see figure 5).
Just as a man may turn away from his date, an individual in negotia-
tions may shift away from his counterpart if he hears an unattractive
offer or feels threatened as bargaining continues. Blocking behaviors
may also be manifested; the businessperson may close or rub his eyes, or
place his hands in front of his face (see figure 6). He may lean away
from the table or the other person and turn his feet away as well, some-
times in the direction of the nearest exit. These are not behaviors of de-
ception, but rather actions that signal that a person feels uncomfortable.
These forms of the age-old flight response are distancing nonverbal be-