MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2019 -- If you've ever experienced an immobilizing sense of panic when faced with a difficult or threatening situation, you're not alone. It turns out that the well-documented fight-or-flight instinct for self-preservation isn't a guaranteed reaction.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that stress can actually lower your ability to effectively assess new threats because it can distract you, leading you to pay less attention to what's going on around you and impair your ability to react in your own best interests.