Tactical Question: Overcoming Adrenaline Dump

[ClarkLZeuss]

I'm new to CHL and carrying, and one thing I've noticed that comes up a lot is the "adrenaline dump," the physical process that starts the "fight or flight" syndrome. In a self-defense situation (imagine parking-lot robbery or home invasion), it seems that this would happen right when you need to draw your weapon, and so there would be very little time to react to and overcome the adrenaline rush, tunnel vision, numb hands, etc. I think this would make your situation even more dangerous than it already was, because even if you're able to draw your gun, but because of the physiological problems listed above you can't fire it (or else can't fire accurately), then the attacker may be able to steal your gun right out of your hands.

So a question for you tactical guys (Excaliber, srothstein, etc.): how do you overcome the paralyzing side effects of the adrenaline dump, especially when you have maybe only a few seconds to do so?

[CompVest]

Training to the point that your shooting skills are in muscle memory and training in stress reduction exercises. Quite frankly unless you have enough money to have access to force on force training IDPA competition is one the best ways to learn to deal with stress while handling a firearm.

[Beiruty]

Breath!
Then Breath more!
and little more... YOU ARE in Auto-Pilot mode.

How do I know? See my name.

[TraCoun]

When the adrenaline begins to be dumped, your body will be using it -- to move quickly, respond, act, move, etc. As others have said, practice can help a lot because you can have more confidence and control things better. Perhaps a bit more serious at that point is the fact that your higher order thinking and fine motor skills will likely go down the tubes. Practice that makes your physical reaction automatic helps take care of the thinking part, and so does mental preparation. All of your practice for self-defense gun handling/shooting needs to concentrate on gross motor skills.
Thanx,
TraCoun

[Excaliber]

So a question for you tactical guys (Excaliber, srothstein, etc.): how do you overcome the paralyzing side effects of the adrenaline dump, especially when you have maybe only a few seconds to do so?

Others have already posted many sound suggestions. Here are a few more:

1. Have a plan that can be activated instantly in response to a stimulus you've repeatedly trained to react to. While no two incidents are ever exactly alike, they are made up of elements that appear with great frequency in criminal attacks. If you have well grounded preprogrammed responses to them, you'll be able to respond effectively when they're thrown at you in a real situation. The best way to start off here is to take hands on courses from trainers with well designed courses and solid reputations (e.g. Mas Ayoob, Clint Smith, etc.)

2. Have a detailed knowledge of the psychophysiological events that accompany extreme stress and how they can be managed. Most of them are associated with an uncontrolled escalation of heart rate. If you can keep your excited heart rate between about 115 and 145 beats per minute, you will be in the optimal performance zone - excited, with some loss of fine motor skills and other effects, but still highly functional and prepared to prevail. Above 145 beats per minute, you'll experience more severe effects, and at around 175 beats per minute you'll likely lose the ability to effectively defend yourself.

An excellent primer on what goes on here and how to deal with it is Sharpening the Warrior's Edge by Bruce Siddle. It includes an extremely important section on how to use controlled breathing to manage your heart rate and keep the effects of life threatening stress from overwhelming your ability to deal with it. I consider it "must reading" for anyone who wants to prepare effectively for managing critical incidents up close and personal and living to tell about it.

[srothstein]

I have to agree with everything said so far, they are all great. The two key points made are training and breathing.

In law enforcement, there has been a lot of study done in this area. What was realized was that you cannot fight the adrenaline dump, so you must learn to use it. When your brain shuts down because of the stress, you will revert to your training and react without thinking. So, train for what you expect. As Excalibur mentioned, visualization of scenarios and thinking about your reactions will help. Practice with the actual mechanics of the weapon and shooting will help. One trick we use in training officers is to practice doing things with as much gross motor skill as we can instead of fine motor skill. For example, to release the bolt on the M16 rifle, we teach the trainee to just slap the side of the rifle with his palm instead of using his thumb or finger to press the release. We do the same concept as much as possible with pistols and other things.

The saying to remember is that you fight like you train and you should train like you fight.

The other tip that was important is controlling the reaction itself. The easiest way to keep the heartbeat under control is to practice what we call tactical or combat breathing. It is simply a matter of deliberately using long slow deep breaths to force your body to calm back down. To see how it works, do some exercise to get your heart rate up, then (while wearing a heart rate monitor) start doing your breathing on a four count system. By this, I mean take four counts to inhale, hold for four counts, four counts to exhale, hold for four counts. You can see your heart rate drop fairly quickly.

The other effect to watch for is the adrenalin crash after the event. but that is a whole different thread.

[ClarkLZeuss]

1. Have a plan that can be activated instantly in response to a stimulus you've repeatedly trained to react to. While no two incidents are ever exactly alike, they are made up of elements that appear with great frequency in criminal attacks. If you have well grounded preprogrammed responses to them, you'll be able to respond effectively when they're thrown at you in a real situation. The best way to start off here is to take hands on courses from trainers with well designed courses and solid reputations (e.g. Mas Ayoob, Clint Smith, etc.)

Do either of those guys ever come to Houston? Alternatively, are there similar training courses offered in the Houston area?

Thanks (to all) for all the other great advice!

[flintknapper]

I'm new to CHL and carrying, and one thing I've noticed that comes up a lot is the "adrenaline dump," the physical process that starts the "fight or flight" syndrome. ?

All excellent answers to your question.

To present a more complete description of the F/F syndrome you allude to....I would call attention to other conditions that can (and do) occur....especially if you have not trained or conditioned yourself to do otherwise.

Along with "fight or flight" you can add "freeze" (hyprevigilance/tonic mobility) and "faint" which needs no further explanation.

All of the good advice submitted above...(if practiced), will help if you are ever put in an "extreme stress" situation.

[casingpoint]

Speaking as a lay person from fortunately limited experience, it gets easier each time around. But I don't believe it ever stops for us.

For training in the Houston area, see http://www.hoffners.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fm2]

Lots of good thoughts in the thread.

I have to recommend taking a defensive pistol class first. There's no reason to waste time trying to unlearn bad habits at a training course. A defensive pistol class is usually a pre-requisite for attending a FOF class.

Being physically in good shape will help with the rapid heart rate and bringing it back to normal BPMs.

Having a plan is good, but due to an extremely dynamic nature it's also very important to have some concepts to guide you through to your next plan. One concept is to seek to constantly improve position.



Some of the FOF options I know of:

ShivWorks ECQC class has integrated FOF components. The class in March 27-28 @ Impactzone range. PM me for details.

KR training has some FOF classes
http://www.krtraining.com/KRTraining/Cl ... t_two.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.krtraining.com/KRTraining/Cl ... fiveA.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tac-pro has FOF classes
http://www.tacproshootingcenter.com/force-on-force.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There's also an article on the FOF class online SWAT.

[Excaliber]

1. Have a plan that can be activated instantly in response to a stimulus you've repeatedly trained to react to. While no two incidents are ever exactly alike, they are made up of elements that appear with great frequency in criminal attacks. If you have well grounded preprogrammed responses to them, you'll be able to respond effectively when they're thrown at you in a real situation. The best way to start off here is to take hands on courses from trainers with well designed courses and solid reputations (e.g. Mas Ayoob, Clint Smith, etc.)

Do either of those guys ever come to Houston? Alternatively, are there similar training courses offered in the Houston area?

Thanks (to all) for all the other great advice!

Unfortunately I don't know of anything in the Houston area.

Check out the websites for Clint and Mas (there are others as well - John Farnam and Chuck Taylor come to mind). Other forum members may be able to recommend other good more local folks.

Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch has a defensive pistol course planned in DFW for Jan. 25-27 of 2010 (That's not a misprint - he's good enough that his courses fill up that far in advance.)

Mas Ayoob's Lethal Force Institute Schedule doesn't show any TX classes for this year.

I've heard good things about Tiger Valley in Prairie Hill, TX, but I have not yet attended one of their courses.

Their instructors frequently offer courses at the Elm Fork Range in Dallas. They have had a series of Wednesday evening courses on specialized topics like low light defensive pistol and more comprehensive weekend courses on defensive handgun and urban carbine. This Wednesday evening they'll be teaching how to engage moving targets and how to move while shooting. The cost is $65, no preregistration, just show up. I may be there myself if my schedule allows. You can find the details here..

[bdickens]

360 training at Memorial Shooting Center periodically has classes.

[stevie_d_64]

Some very good and serious solutions here so far...

What works for me though is a bubble bath and a glass of warm milk...

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist...But the truth is you'll still wake up in the morning, and a sobering realization will hit you again, and again, and again...Best to be prepared for the long term stuff...

[escheue]

I am a martial arts instructor as well as a gun lover. One thing to think about is the possability that you will be suprised at point blank range and going directly for your gun may get you killed. I suggest you get the gun training as stated above but you should also learn how to dissarm as well. I have tought many federal and local officers over the years and they know if someone is in reach and has a beed on you, you will not be able to draw and shoot fast enough to prevent being shot unless you are abnormally fast. It is often safer to disarm them. Only you can decide what the best course of action might be. If you think giving him what he wants will keep you safe then do that. Your suvival is what matters.