Reactions to stress are automatic body responses that are often disconnected from any higher reasoning. Danger can be recognized and immediately responded to without any use of the neocortex. This is a slightly more sophisticated version of what takes place when someone touches something hot and the signal only has to travel up the arm to the muscles that pull the hand away from the flame. The purpose for stress reaction is to help the individual to quickly respond to danger. People usually respond to the potential danger in more than one of the following ways.