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Adraper wrote:I read a book a couple years ago "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales that really helped me understand how the brain responds to extreme suvivor level stress and how training could affect that by providing a mental map/plan for the situation. A month or so after reading the book, I was bitten by poisonous snake a good distance from medical care. I was able to see my body's response to a massive adrenaline dump and it was an eye opener. Mentally, I stayed very calm. Physically, I was a wreck.

03Lightningrocks wrote:One more issue I will mention. We often use the terms... Fight or flight when in reality the third option is the typical immediate response to a dire threat. That third option is "freeze up" and do nothing.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

Ericstac wrote:^^ it definitely caused me hesitation because I was in no shape to fight so I just stood there until I caught up to myself.lol..

In my younger days I had been in situations where I was in the midst of some stupid gunfire situations and looking back it was similar to what y described. No fear or rush or anything was happening to halt my progress, it was pure react to survive up until the threats were over and then the rush and shakes and junk occurred.

In the scenario you and I had that were similar, the hesitation may have been a benefit. That second or two we took to gather our thoughts might have been what kept you from shooting the neighbor and me from shooting a ghost.

In the other scenario where I was under attack and you were in a situation of gun fire, hesitation may have cost us our lives.

Human instinct may have more to do with it than anything. The question is whether or not we suppress our instincts when we sense a danger situation. I have read stories of victims feeling a situation might be dangerous and then suppressing the instinct out of fear of being considered racist or closed minded. I have always tried to instill in my kids that if a situation doesn't "feel right", DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE IT!

Sorry... I drifted a bit. Your post has me thinking about the built in mechanism we all have that is suppose to insure our survival. Society, especially liberal society, has created an environment that tells us to feel guilty or even paranoid if we act on our instincts.

knotquiteawake wrote:

Excaliber wrote:

Ericstac wrote:That's how I finally did it was with nice deep controlled breathe but it seemed like it took forever to control, I will read into it, maybe the best thing is to control breathing from the very beginning.

That's correct, and it's not just taking deep breaths - it involves breathing in a particular pattern to influence heart rate.

You can find the details on tactical breathing here.

Thank you!

I struggle with this same issue, sometimes even for seemingly minor things my brain will do an adrenaline dump and it becomes very difficult to control my breathing, heart rate, and voice. This breathing technique sounds like it might help a lot.

Ericstac wrote:That's how I finally did it was with nice deep controlled breathe but it seemed like it took forever to control, I will read into it, maybe the best thing is to control breathing from the very beginning.

Ericstac wrote:How do you cool your adrenaline rush down and keep it at bay during a high alert situation, such as a burglar entering into your home?

I used to be a firefighter and I had this problem with calls. I could feel my heart thumping so hard it felt like it was coming out of my chest.. Well, that's been 15 yrs now and yesterday I got that same feeling. Stopped by my moms house and they were gone, I hit the restroom real quick before I left. While in the restroom I hear a quick knock and I think great a neighbor kid looking for my son, then the next thing I know the door flies open and I hear someone rushing around in the living room..

I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding me and I immediately got ready for someone to kick in the bathroom door. All the lights were off except mine so I know they know someone is in there. I was off to the side and distant from the door waiting for a minute and decided I needed to go offensive mode but my adrenaline was pounding so hard, eyes were red, etc.. It took a good minute for me to prepare to even have good breathing before I made my exit and quickly cleared the house first around the restroom area and moved down the hall until I cleared the entire house.. Intruder was gone and that will be another thread..