Fun with Mental Awareness and Preparedness!

Close your eyes for a minute and picture this: it’s the middle of the night, you’re asleep in your bed and suddenly you wake up to a window being broken and the voices of strangers in your house. How do you feel? Are you nervous, scared, excited? Is your heart racing? Are you already planning out your next move? Now open your eyes, and if your answer was anything short of a calculated action plan then we have some work to do.

Many of us prepare for emergency scenarios, such as the inevitable zombie apocalypse, by learning self-defense, buying hundreds of dollars’ worth of bug out gear and investing in only the sharpest of knives. Although some of this is important, a lot of us forget to spend some time preparing mentally for reacting to and surviving in a crisis. If you freeze up during a catastrophe and aren’t prepared to react instinctively (in a productive way, of course), then that $500 bag full of supplies is pretty much worthless. Let’s take a look at what happens to you biologically when you’re faced with a crisis so you can recognize when you are in control (and actually able to execute that killer three-move death punch!).

As a survivor-in-training, you might find it interesting how our body reacts to fear. Most people know that instinctually we have a 'fight or flight' response system. In reality, there are four responses: fight, flight, freeze or fidget. This is our natural response when we're scared, and it happens as a result of our body being flooded with the neuro-transmitters called norepinephrine and epineoherine (nor-adrenaline and adrenaline). This is what causes your heart rate and blood pressure to increase, and prepares your body for action in an emergency. Interestingly enough, one of the ways it prepares the body is by suppressing non-emergency bodily processes (e.g. digestion) so it can increase the supply of oxygen and glucose to your brain and muscles (ever felt like you could lift a car off someone in a crisis?)

Now comes the big question: How can you be aware of all these fancy changes in your body? First, identify which of the four responses you are in (fight, flight, fear and fidget). Secondly, recognize what happens in your body right before your body’s natural response kicks in (sweaty palms, shortness of breath, faster heartbeat, your face gets hot, etc.). Once you know this, then you’ll know what to look for BEFORE your body starts responding, and this will give you those critical few seconds to get yourself under control. Thirdly, once you’ve recognized what’s going on in your body, then you’ll be able to move past your natural reaction and start carrying out that action plan you put together years ago (for some of us, this includes grabbing our baseball bats and taking down a horde of 100 zombies… single-handedly).

Just remember to always being aware of what’s going on in your body, and prepare yourself mentally for what to do when things go sideways. And of course, practice, practice, practice!

#fightorflight #preparedeness #mental