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bananafobe t1_j5m1esd wrote

Reply to comment by Dumdumgirlsbeeep in Man who disarmed Monterey Park shooter speaks out: 'Something came over me' by alanzhang34

If it helps, there are benefits to freezing during extreme circumstances, including enabling you to focus and possibly protecting against the development of PTSD related symptoms.

We often think of freezing as an inadequate response, but part of that is because we tend to consider it in situations like this (where it almost certainly wouldn't have been a helpful response), as opposed to situations wherein remaining calm enabled someone to navigate a potentially dangerous situation, and where it may not have been obvious that a "freeze" response was part of what enabled someone to remain calm.

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Dumdumgirlsbeeep t1_j5m1yft wrote

You are so kind thanks for this. And truthfully I’m always the calm head in a crisis (the one to calm the patient, call 911 etc) so maybe that’s my gift. Hopefully if I’m ever in a situation like this there’s a Brandon Tsay around 😊

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Millenniauld t1_j5qingv wrote

I'll be honest, as someone who has a major "fight" response to stressors, it doesn't usually mean being a hero, and it does put you in danger. I got jumped once when delivering pizzas and I got DAMN lucky that they weren't expecting a skinny delivery girl to turn into a rage filled "fire spitting" demon (I carried pepper spray.) They easily could have killed me, because I'm wired to react even if it isn't the right choice. Pretty sure they were caught off guard and squeamish about hitting a woman until it was too late and I had the upper hand.

For every Brandon Tsay out there, you have dozens of people who get themselves or even others hurt. Life isn't like the movies.

Having the ability to stay calm, call 911, and do first aid when others are injured...... That's an even rarer talent in my opinion.

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MATlad t1_j5ntoju wrote

I think that's the point for a lot of emergency training (and 'refreshers'): so that when the alarms, or flames, or H2S sensors go off for real, or when you see an electrified coworker (grab something non-conductive instead of the coworker) or someone who's bleeding out, you don't completely freeze up, or only hesitate enough to evaluate.

Like how Gretzky (and others in that elite-amongst-elite tier of athletes) claimed they felt they could slow down time enough and make plays and analyses that the rest of us (and even many of their very-well compensated teammates) would just blink through.

And on the dark side... Before the mass murder / suicide of ~918 people at Jonestown happened, there'd been multiple "practice runs" prior with unpoisoned drink:

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Utopian-nightmare-3060346.php

Heck, maybe his followers wouldn't have suffered as much if they weren't even told. But I guess Sunday picnics ("try the punch!"--or more insidiously, here's the "communion wine") aren't really compatible with paranoid cult leaders whose cults face apocalyptic ends to their supposed utopias.

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keskeskes1066 t1_j5phwon wrote

Thank you for that. Now I have a response to my wife when she asks why I am "still just sitting there" after she asks me to do something.

"Just remaining calm and enabling myself to navigate a potentially dangerous situation, Babe.

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SuicydKing t1_j5vviyy wrote

> a potentially dangerous situation

"I'll show you a potentially dangerous situation!"

-wife

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