When All Hell Breaks Loose (9 page)

"W
E CAN BE AFRAID OR WE CAN BE READY, AND
A
MERICANS ARE NOT AFRAID
."

—F
ORMER
S
ECRETARY
T
OM
R
IDGE
, D
EPARTMENT OF
H
OMELAND
S
ECURITY

 

During
any
traumatic emergency, be it in the backcountry of Idaho or downtown Chicago,
you will be scared
. Get used to this truth now, and the effects of anxiety and fear will be far less paralyzing when they happen to you and those you love.

While the body's initial response to fear has saved countless lives since time began, the long-term stress of fear and the damage it does to the human body has been clinically proven for decades.

When the brain perceives a "threat to survival," the
sympathetic nervous system
(SNS) goes nuts by immediately releasing loads of stress hormones—called adrenaline or epinephrine—into the circulatory system. This reflex action to stress happens automatically and is virtually uncontrollable. The chemical cocktail is the basis for the body's fight-or-flight mechanism and is characterized by several factors, including an increased heart rate and cardiac output, higher blood pressure, and increased blood sugar. Blood is diverted from organs to the larger muscle groups, resulting in increased strength capabilities and enhanced gross motor skills while the breathing rate accelerates, thereby transporting greater amounts of oxygen to the newly recruited muscle fibers. At the same time, sweating increases to cool the muscles. Minor blood vessels in the arms and legs constrict to reduce bleeding from potential injuries, digestion ceases, and muscle tremors take over. The pupils dilate, reducing depth perception, while axillary muscle performance takes a nosedive, creating blurred vision. And, as if this isn't enough, the field of sight narrows, producing tunnel vision. To a greater or lesser extent, time appears to pass more slowly, called the
Tache-psyche
effect, allowing for increased reaction time to the perceived emergency.

Researchers have spent years figuring out why stress deteriorates performance in combat soldiers, ultimately linking an elevated heart rate to the poor execution of fine and complex motor skills. They found that a heart rate of 115 beats per minute or faster severely compromised fine motor skills. When the heart rate exceeded 145 beats per minute, complex motor skills began to suffer. In contrast, in times of high stress, gross motor skills were relatively unaffected! That's one more reason to keep your family's preparedness plan and the items you choose to store simple in design.

Once the physiological chaos begins, the SNS rules the body with an iron fist, controlling all voluntary and involuntary systems until the survival threat has been eliminated, personal performance takes a dump, or the
parasympathetic nervous system
(PNS) regains control. The more freaked out you or your family members become, the more the SNS takes over your world. Before busting down the door in the middle of the night, police officers on a raid routinely experience low levels of SNS activity, resulting in increased heart rate and respiration, muscle tremors, and a heightened sense of anxiety. Being rushed by a hungry, one-eyed, one-armed flying purple people eater and its pet Zygot, however, will cause very high levels of SNS action due to the qualities of in-your-face potential death coupled with decreased response time. Such circumstances cause extreme failure of the body's visual, cognitive, and motor-control systems.

Additional problems surface when one realizes the body's physiological response to extreme stress and the PNS payback occur as a result of the demands placed upon it. The SNS mobilizes body resources to deal with the perceived survival scenario. It is the body's "physiological warrior," instantly heading to the front lines for battle regardless of your opinion. The PNS deals with your body's digestive system and its recuperative processes. It is the physiological equivalent of the body's nurturing caretaker, accomplishing everyday tasks for the present and future.

When your body is subjected to stress, the natural balance between the two nervous systems goes down the tubes and the physiological warrior starts to raise hell (fight-or-flight mechanism). As the body's energy is redirected to ensure its survival, its caretaker is thrown into battle as well and nonessential PNS activities suddenly take a dump, sometimes literally. As a result of PNS shutdown, thousands of World War II veterans admitted to urinating or defecating in their pants during combat operations.

A: Constricted Minor Blood Vessels

B: Dilated Pupils

C: Increased Breathing Rate

D: Increased Sweating

E: Increased Heart Rate Dumps Adrenaline into Circulatory System

F: Digestion Ceases

G: Loss of Bowel Control

H: Blood Diverted to Larger Muscle Groups