brain chemicals

BRAIN CHEMICALS
Many times before I’ve pleaded and cautioned and cajoled and admonished- please, for the love of all that’s good and just and holy, be advised and afraid. Under the stress of combat your body will betray you, not work as instructed and you will fire off all twenty eight rounds of 223 from your prized plastic carbine in a near panic and before you know it all your ammo will be gone and you will die. I have been poo-pahed, ridiculed, called unflattering names and mocked. So, let’s take a more detailed look at you, stress and brain chemicals. When you are threatened, your heart rate increases and stress hormones and adrenaline is released. Gross motor skill improve, meaning you can run faster or hit harder. However, there is no free lunch. For your body to “pay” for that action, your finer motor skills degrade. In one study, Navy SEALS were run on a vigorous obstacle course. The scenario at the end was they were “taking prisoners”. Most participants were unable to thread the ends of the plastic zip ties together due to the stress and exertion. If any one of you tells me you can perform better than a SEAL I will vomit blood onto your shoes.

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In an interview with a seasoned paramedic, it was stated that the average family member under stress had to get a neighbor to dial 911 for them. Their fine motor skills and judgment were that degraded. I have personal experience with this, as I’ll cover shortly. There are physical reactions to stress. You don’t control them. The lenses in your eyes can change contour, less blood reaches the fingers as it is diverted to the major muscles, the infamous bladder and bowel loss of control as the body runs triage ( it can only super-charge at the expense of abandonment ) and reasoning and judgment shut down as the primal brain assumes command ( this eliminates lost time ). There are hundreds of reactions, all beyond your control.

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In another test, Special Forces SERE school students were tested for cognitive abilities under stress. 60 out of 64 reverted to prepubescent levels as the norepinephrine is affecting the neurotransmitters. If any of you tell me you are more capable than Green Berets of handling stress, I will shake my trousers and dribble bloody stool on your shoes. There are two ways to minimize combat stress. One is “stress inoculation”. Thirty years ago while on patrol, I was confronted with a relatively minor injury. It was bad enough for stress to all but incapacitate me, not bad enough for my taking too long to hurt the injured further. I was able to radio for the unit medic ( that part was easy, radio use being a “no-brainer” through long practice ). This was what woke me up to the fact that I wasn’t cut out for LEO work ( too analytic, not reactive enough ). Thirteen years or so ago, I was riding bikes with my two kids. If you put them in front, they are beyond your control. Put them in back, you can’t see them. And of course, something bad had to happen. My daughter was hit, but luckily it was in a parking lot so the speeds were not a factor. Again, I froze. Luckily it was sunny crowded Florida so everyone was out and about. A bystander called an ambulance ( no injuries, just stress. Thank goodness ). The third time there was a medical emergency, about two or three years ago, I was all alone with the now-ex wife. Luckily, this time I could respond with far less incapacitation or time wastage. Still some, but now where near as bad. This was stress inoculation. My brain was no longer locked up as it had dwelt with similar situations before. For those of you lacking combat experience, there is the second stress reduction tool, repetitive training.

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This one is easy. In combat, you don’t rise to the occasion. You sink to your training. Good or bad ( the examples from law enforcement of officers stopping in combat to revert to practice. Scooping up spent brass, or holstering their weapon even when they were engaged because they had for so long practiced the “quick draw, twice fire, holster” ). How many of you can afford to train the right way? The pop up targets through the maze, the thousands of rounds of acquiring muscle memory? I know I can’t. Which has been why I have insisted on the role your firearm plays. A semi is spray and pray under stress, where a bolt forces your action of not wasting a shot. Hey, my solution is far from perfect. My only point is that it is a “two-fer”. You have ammo far longer after the collapse than the semi owners, and both the rifles and the total ammo cost are much cheaper. However you choose to solve the brain chemical issue, at least beware it exists and know you can’t manly wish it away with machismo. I know a very small minority of you can escape the worst under stress, or are trained or are experienced. A very small minority. For the vast majority, the above applies.

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