The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls specific body processes (e.g., blood circulation, digestion, breathing, heartbeat), but its primary function is homeostasis. This useful overview of the Sympathetic Nervous System (the part of ANS that covers Fight or Flight readiness) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (the part of ANS that creates calm and allows for normal function and productivity) is helpful not only in understanding the characteristics of each environment, but also in understanding how these responses by the body are natural. On the one hand it is natural for most of us to default to the sympathetic system when we encounter stranger places, people or situations, but equally natural to move to a parasympathetic state when connected to those around us who create, through trust, psychological safety and other behavioral cues, a state of safety in the group.