How do SNRIs work for anxiety, if norepinephrine raises the fight or flight response?

Question

I’m still pretty confused about this one, if SNRIs raise norepinephrine, which raises the fight or flight response, then how is that supposed to make anxiety improve?

Wasn’t sure whether to flair this as biology or chemistry

In: 4

Answer 1

While norepinephrine (NE) definitely does activate the fight or flight response, it also does a ton of other stuff. The response results from high levels of NE produced during stress, but at normal levels, NE is also responsible for stuff like alertness and focus, among others. Conditions that are treated with SNRIs usually correlate with low NE levels, which can lead to decreased alertness and focus; SNRIs normalize NE levels to increase alertness and focus.