Fight or Flight?
Amazing things happen when a person (or any animal, for that matter) is faced with a perceived dangerous situation. The brain sends out all sorts of signals to release hormones that result in the body preparing for fight or flight. Heart and lung activity increases, vision becomes focused, glucose is produced to provide a burst of energy. Amazing, really. Natural instincts make a male more likely to stand and fight while a female is more likely to take flight. The exception is a mother protecting her young. And, I believe, in human females, this instinct extends to one’s spouse. When you’re a wife and a mom, flight usually isn’t an option. At least not one I want to consider. But I’m curious…how do you deal with frightening …show more content…
We were told repeatedly how lucky we were that the accident happened when the hand specialist was on call. I guess I understood the sentiment but it was hard to fully concur. Lucky?? …show more content…
Phil, with three fingers somewhat shorter than they had been when the day began but with a less horrible outcome than “hand meets joiner” could have been. Me, exhausted and unable to stop replaying the scene in my mind.
Over the past couple of weeks, Phil has thanked me several times for how I handled the situation. I keep dwelling on what I should have done differently. I don’t want any more chances to find out if I will improve with practice. I do not need any more next times.
This marks the third and final member of my family to have an emergency situation. Daughter Claire had a skiing accident when she was eleven. Horrifying is seeing your child strapped to a backboard and being pulled down a mountain, barely conscious and struggling to call for Mommy while the paramedics try to ascertain if she is able to move her fingers and toes. Thankfully, that time I was surrounded by Phil, my parents, and my sister. I had a lot of support. Son Dylan, at seventeen, had his appendix rupture. Equally as horrifying is watching nurses shift to crisis mode when your son’s temperature suddenly skyrockets past 107. Phil was out of town so I dealt with that one alone. And now Phil. I’m done, I just want to put that out there. There’s a reason I’m not a doctor or a nurse, why I don’t watch medical dramas, why I feel nauseated upon entering a hospital…I don’t like this stuff! I’ve now dealt with a crisis with each one of them, I’ve
Amazing things happen when a person (or any animal, for that matter) is faced with a perceived dangerous situation. The brain sends out all sorts of signals to release hormones that result in the body preparing for fight or flight. Heart and lung activity increases, vision becomes focused, glucose is produced to provide a burst of energy. Amazing, really. Natural instincts make a male more likely to stand and fight while a female is more likely to take flight. The exception is a mother protecting her young. And, I believe, in human females, this instinct extends to one’s spouse. When you’re a wife and a mom, flight usually isn’t an option. At least not one I want to consider. But I’m curious…how do you deal with frightening …show more content…
We were told repeatedly how lucky we were that the accident happened when the hand specialist was on call. I guess I understood the sentiment but it was hard to fully concur. Lucky?? …show more content…
Phil, with three fingers somewhat shorter than they had been when the day began but with a less horrible outcome than “hand meets joiner” could have been. Me, exhausted and unable to stop replaying the scene in my mind.
Over the past couple of weeks, Phil has thanked me several times for how I handled the situation. I keep dwelling on what I should have done differently. I don’t want any more chances to find out if I will improve with practice. I do not need any more next times.
This marks the third and final member of my family to have an emergency situation. Daughter Claire had a skiing accident when she was eleven. Horrifying is seeing your child strapped to a backboard and being pulled down a mountain, barely conscious and struggling to call for Mommy while the paramedics try to ascertain if she is able to move her fingers and toes. Thankfully, that time I was surrounded by Phil, my parents, and my sister. I had a lot of support. Son Dylan, at seventeen, had his appendix rupture. Equally as horrifying is watching nurses shift to crisis mode when your son’s temperature suddenly skyrockets past 107. Phil was out of town so I dealt with that one alone. And now Phil. I’m done, I just want to put that out there. There’s a reason I’m not a doctor or a nurse, why I don’t watch medical dramas, why I feel nauseated upon entering a hospital…I don’t like this stuff! I’ve now dealt with a crisis with each one of them, I’ve