Do you handle emergencies well?

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For the most part I'm not good with emergencies at all! I always panic, got blank, get nervous and not react or be able to make the correct decisions.

For most nonviolent emergencies I go into logic mode. I set about doing the things that need to be done. Once they're done. I have anxiety attacks and possibly new phobias... but can at least handle the emergency itself.

I don't remember any emergency situations with other people but there was one time when I had a nose bleed and apparently me, my mom and my brother thought the best way to stop it was to pinch the nose and so I did that over the sink but then the bleeding never stopped so we decided to go to the hospital and so I had a bunch of tissues pressed against my nose. When we got to the hospital, the bleeding stopped so I didn't need to go inside the hospital. I had frequent nosebleeds for a month after that probably because there was a cut inside but now I know how to stop nosebleeds...WITH TISSUES.

I can handle most situations.Although my mind may freeze and I get worried, my body takes over and reacts even when my mind can't.Its almost like a stimuli reaction that kicks in and takes over when my mind can't.One example would be when my sister stuck her hand in the stream of a pressure washer and the water pressure ripped her hand open.My mind froze but my immediate reaction was to take her into the house, wash it off, and get my dad to drive her to the hospital (this was before I got my driver's license, so I couldnt drive her myself).
Another situation, was when my vehicle couldnt stop on some ice and there was a car in front of me...my mind froze again, but my body's reaction was to steer into the snowbank and NOT slam on the brake but gently apply pressure on it so I can maintain control of my steering.I ended up only getting stuck in the snow for five minutes instead of beiing in a car accident and getting sued because my body took over and reacted as it should.I dug myself out and still got to work in time.

That depends on if I am in a position where I am able to help. If I am, I generally can handle it quite well. When my body releases adrenaline, it reacts as it is supposed to, and is ready to act. Unfortunately, if I get that adrenaline rush, and have no ability to react, you might see some of my worst (from a productivity standpoint) traits come out. Early this year, I had a lawyer pass out in front of me in court. His client and the bailiff helped him to the floor, I could only sit in my seat, rocking. When I get called up for deployment, (disaster response) however, I have my bags in the car, and am on the road, ready to get to work right away.

I have an easier time in emergency because I don't stop acting rationally.

Overall, yes.

Since I don't really get emotional until I have time to process what's happened, I can focus on doing what needs to be done.

it is strange that i react to various styles of emergencies with different degrees of sensibility.

i will give three examples of "emergencies" that range from very minor to very major, and how i reacted to them.
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example 1 (mild emergency).

i was in an agitated state one evening when i went out to buy some takeaway food. they got my order wrong twice, and there was an idiot in his car blocking my short route back home with my hot food. i started to panic and try to look for sidewalks that i could drive over in order to get around obstacles so i could get home and eat my meal before it went soggy because of steaming inside it's packaging.

i mounted a gutter and went around him and powered rapidly home.
there was a thunderstorm that broke just as i drove into my carport, and i got out of my car and went to my front door to open it, and then it rained extremely hard. i have no protection from rain at my front door.
i tried to fumble with my keys and i found the front door key and i could not get it into the keyhole because i was panicking about preserving my meal. at first the key was upside down, and then i dropped them and as i stooped to pick them up, the gutter above my head spilled over and drenched me and my meal.

if i was sensible, i would have ran back to my car (under shelter), and waited for that episode of rain to pass.
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example 2. (severe shock (not really an "emergency" but akin to one))

i was returning from ballina to my home with tammy on december 27 2008. it is a 500 mile trip (800km) , and everything was going serenely.
we were heading southbound, and there was much traffic heading northbound (oncoming).

i commented to tammy on a few occasions "goodness i would hate to be in that slow moving queue of cars". we were doing 90kph as the speed limit was 90kph for that winding section of road.

i was driving toward a blind bend which i could not see around, and i had no idea that a V8 commodore (an australian car) had decided to overtake (with lunacy) a whole string of cars. the driver was a provisional license holder (p-plater as they are known in australia (young and not yet experienced)).

as i got to the bend, i saw the commodore on my side of the road, and it's engine was screaming, and he must have been doing 160kph (100mph). i saw it for 1/4 second only.
i swerved violently away from him, and he swerved (quick reflexes from him i must say) just as violently to try to get back to his side of the road.
there was no time to take effective action, but we did not fatally collide.

his driver's side external rear view mirror smashed into mine, and i was shaken badly that i came within inches of death.

it took an acrobatic effort to get my 2,400kg mercedes back on the road and tracking normally on the road.
we hit while we were still on the road, but the swerve "consequence" continued for about 3-5 seconds, and my car ended up on grass at 90kph, from where i reefed it back onto the road.
i do not know what became of the other car because the bend was sharp, and i could not see him any more from my (internal mid screen) rear view mirror. i wonder how he got into his lane again considering there was so many cars bumper to bumper on his side.

i said "jeeeeeezuz christ tam!! !! i am not sure i want to drive any further without pulling over to think".

anyway, i was extremely shaken for 300 km after that before i became calm again. i did not trust the oncoming traffic at all for 300km, but i still drove with extra contingency plans for that time. i did not break under the trauma. i did not stop and quiver.

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example 3.

yesterday i went into respiratory distress. i had to call an ambulance.
i have always had mild asthma, and sometimes i need to use my puffer to relax (and dilate) my bronchial tubes, but i have never experienced the terror that i experienced yesterday (tuesday) ever before.

it starts last thursday when i felt particularly insufficient in my breathing. i was getting puffed out at moderate levels of energy expenditure. my inhaler did not seem to work well.
never the less, i was not puffed when i relaxed, so i thought i had a mild infection and so i decided i would relax my efforts until it was vanquished by my immune system.

on friday, i was gasping at mild levels of activity, and so i decided to close down all insignificant tasks that i would normally perform (like sweeping leaves of the driveway for example).

tammy came over on friday night and i did not have enough breath to sing with her or to entertain her with my acting scenarios where i say simple oratories in an exaggerated way.

that night she did not have fun because i did not have fun, and i drove her home the next day, and i felt slightly better and i had a good time with her in the car.


on sunday i was very puffed out while doing anything , and i was ok if i was completely still for 10 mins and i thought "if i have to keep lying down until this infection passes, then i will have to do it".

then on monday, it seemed even worse and i rang a medical center to say that i was getting a bit distressed and i may need some help possibly to free up my breathing.

they said to come there, but i decided against it because i was marginally able to reach a level of comfort if i stayed absolutely still. (dumb decision)

then on tuesday morning i awoke and felt breathless as soon as i came into consciousness.
i knew i was in trouble then. my body had been in a state of idleness for 5 hours, and i was still not able to breathe enough for even that state of "relaxation".

i thought "i will carefully get up now and drive myself to a hospital, because this is too much for me to bear".

i got out of bed, and i suddenly started to fight for breath, and i knew i could not get dressed and go to the car and drive to the hospital.
it was an emergency.

i sidled toward the telephone to ring an ambulance, and then i got the pinging urge to cough.
i coughed for about 5 seconds, and i thought "i am going to die if i spend any effort on this cough", so i subdued it. it was too late to save me from a respiratory distress.

i started shaking because i felt like i was drowning. i felt like my lungs were the size of ping pong balls, and that is all i had to breathe with. i could not have blown a candle out at point blank range.

at that point of distress, all i was focused on was getting every tiny bit of breath that i could, and i breathed very fast (tachypnea) , and it seemed i was losing the battle. it was terrifying.

i rang "000" (like 911) and i could not say more than one word at a time without breathing three times to compensate for each word.
i was in a state of suffocation, and i said to the operator:

me:need...gasp gasp oxygen..gasp gasp at (my address (with lots of "gasps" in it).
operator:an ambulance has been dispatched. if you can, go to your front door and open it now and sit there.

i did (it was tortuous to get there) and the ambulance came.
they gave me oxygen in a mask that felt suffocating because my face was hot and i was sweating from my face profusely. oxygen did not seem to work, and that worried me but i subdued my worry for the sake of my breath.

i just thought to myself "mark...if you freak out you will not survive so just go into sleepy mode" and i did. it worked mildly.
i was taken to hospital, and i after numerous tests, i was given "prednisone" and an antibiotic.
i started to get more volume in my lungs 20 mins after the prednisone, and i was so relieved, and i had enough breath to be discharged after about 6 hours.
i was given a script for the medications to buy after i was discharged.

so i have a severe respiratory tract infection (like pneumonia) and an asthmatic inflammation of my my bronchi and alveoli.

i am still short of breath, but i am so happy i am much less agonized than i was yesterday morning. i am also happy that this did not lead to my demise and i am rising out of it.

so i guess in the face of death, i did not panic and i tried to meditate on the basic fundamentals of why i breathe, rather than fighting in a panic against my respiratory insufficiency (which would have maybe caused anoxia and brain damage or even worse).


well i am sorry i have no idea whether my post is relevant and i am also aware that my post is too long.

As soon as the adrenaline kicks in I handle things quite well. Has been that way since I was a little kid (~4 years old)
I even make my decisions based upon the needs of other people without ever thinking about it. Once the immediate danger is over, my normal state of confusedness returns ...