I'm not sure where to post this on the forum, but since the AK section is my favorite, I'll post it here:
This may be an unusual question, but I have been concerned about controlling my adrenaline response in extreme or dangerous situations for quite some time. I have yet to experience this while in a hunting situation, but there have been times in my life, i.e. heated arguments, fights (not many), instances where I am not being treated fairly or when I have been unjustly accused, and the most dangerous of all: dealing with the ex-wife, where I feel my adrenaline rising to very high levels and I feel I loose a bit of control. Not always, but sometimes, depending on the severity of the situation, I experience shaking and loss of fine motor skills.
I know that military personnel train to control their adrenaline response and I would like to learn to do so as well. Specifically, I do not want to get into a self-defense situation where my adrenaline response will negatively affect my ability to handle the situation.
Outside of the BS methods of diet, exercise, counting to 10, channeling Buddah, or whatever, does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about controlling adrenaline response when seconds count?
I can relate. My adrenaline response to even just, say, a shooter buck 40 yards away in the PNW jungle can be nearly overwhelming, much less something that might try to kill me.
I can't speak from a ton of experience, thankfully, but I do have recent experience with a self-defense situation involving a dangerous animal, in this case my neighbors [bleep] 85-lb pit bull mix that has now come after me four times. I love dogs, and don't want a feud with the hillbilly SOB's, so have tried every avenue short of just shooting it, though that's the next step here. Anyway, my point is that I have a response similar to yours if there's time for it, but the two times I had my Glock on me when that dog came at me, the pistol was in my hand and tracking the dog almost like magic. In one case, it stopped about 6-8 feet away. In the other I clubbed it HARD with a bat in my left hand as it dove for my leg; the trigger was 90% pulled that time. Anyway my point is that you might do just fine in an actual emergency that happened fast; it's when the adrenaline has a chance to "soak in" that it really gets to me. I remember in my teen years, growing up in a violent place, that if a fight was in the making I'd first feel weak and breathless... but after that I'd get a wave of strength and finally fury. I learned to stall. That might help as well.
That weed/snow pic is pretty funny.
