Adrenaline Rush this morning!

[Bennies]

So my wife, my 1 year old daughter and I were leaving a donuts shop after purchasing some kolaches (spelling?) at the front of our neighborhood. The second we walk out of the store, which is located in a cluster of businesses, there is an older lady screaming at the top of her lungs "help me please help me HELP ME!!!". The first thing that hits me is that feeling of adrenaline going through my body and my heart started racing as i scanned the area for immediate threats that i may have missed walking out of the store. My first thought was she was being either robbed or assaulted. My next thought was to figure out exactly what the threat was and move my family to some cover or safety. When i saw there was no one by her my next thought was the establishment she was in front of was being robbed. Of-course it is amazing how fast these things go through your head in the moment. Well then she starts screaming when she sees us "Please help me my car won't start!". This was still in a panic stricken voice at the top of her lungs. Then it hit me. I think she was mentally handicapped. So i ask her what was wrong with her car and she asked if i would help. So i cautiously walked over to her and tried to determine this ladies state of mind the best i could. I stopped and gave myself plenty of distance and made sure i did not see any weapons in plain view or in her car, and that there was no one else around that could have been using her as a diversion to get me closer. At this point with talking with her i could tell that she definitely was not a threat and she really had some sort of disorder of some kind. So turns out her car would not start because it was an automatic and she was trying to start it while it was in drive. easy fix. She gave me a hug and went on our way leaving my wife and i wondering if she even had a drivers license.
Anyways both my wife and I initially were very startled by her screaming which was definitely NOT normal. The biggest thing i took away was a lesson in trying to preform in a dynamic critical incident while dealing with a huge adrenaline dump into the system. Luckily this did not turn out to be an actual assault or anything like that occurring, but i was convinced from her screams it was. My wife was too. I'm sure if anyone else would have heard her they would have also been convinced something terrible was happening. It was interesting for me to be placed in that situation because i actually had to deal with my bodies responses to a situation that was high stress initially. Hopefully if it happens again it is something just as innocent and i can laugh about it later. You just can't reproduce that initial shock of adrenaline at the range. It was a great learning experience.

[slowpoke]

Nice job Bennies, its great to see some compassion out there.

[PJK]

Great job on your situational awareness.

[jimlongley]

Great job.

And, BTW, there is no way to spell kolaches in English.

[gigag04]

It was interesting for me to be placed in that situation because i actually had to deal with my bodies responses to a situation that was high stress initially. Hopefully if it happens again it is something just as innocent and i can laugh about it later. You just can't reproduce that initial shock of adrenaline at the range. It was a great learning experience.

Now you can join me at smiling when people say they carry a so and so, and can hit bull at 50 yards etc. When you get an "SNS activation" (medical term for what you experienced) fine motor skills go out the window, pupils dialate, your breathing goes psycho quick, and your pulse and double or triple. Your body will move blood around for quick survival moves and to minimize bleeding if cut or injured.

Even with dilated pupils your vision will narrow and your hearing will be extremely selective.

Shooting under combat stress is a completely different ball game from hitting paper on the 15 yd line.


Great post - interesting read.

[JJVP]

She gave me a hug and went on our way leaving my wife and i wondering if she even had a drivers license.

Did you check to make sure you had your wallet after the "hug"? Or your EDC?

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Bennies:

It looks like you still have your wallet and your EDC
after the hug, but she appears to have stolen your
PC's space bar.

(One ginormous paragraph is harder
to read when there's no white space.). :-)

SIA

[mctowalot]

Good job to the OP!
However, as I'm one of the guys folks call on when their car won't start or they lock the keys inside, I can tell you that just about everybody acts full on - excuse me - they act like they might be a "mental health treatment consumer" - that's the PC/HPD approved term for what we might just call crazy.

It was really nice of you to help the the lady - I've seen men just drive off when help was requested.

[Medic218]

She was mentally altered and you let her just drive away?
Maybe it's just me but people that aren't completely coherent shouldn't be operating a vehicle.
Of course, I wasn't there and I don't know how she was acting. I'm
just going off your description of her mental status.

[Bennies]

Bennies:

It looks like you still have your wallet and your EDC
after the hug, but she appears to have stolen your
PC's space bar.

(One ginormous paragraph is harder
to read when there's no white space.). :-)

SIA

Sorry about that guys. I'll break up a long post like that a little better next time. . And yes I still have my wallet lol.

[Bennies]

She was mentally altered and you let her just drive away?
Maybe it's just me but people that aren't completely coherent shouldn't be operating a vehicle.
Of course, I wasn't there and I don't know how she was acting. I'm
just going off your description of her mental status.

You know I thought about her being ok to drive. Once her car started she was pretty normal. That's when she said thanks and gave me the hug. She drove away normal too.

My wife and I felt she shouldent have a DL more for the fact that she couldn't even start her car. However, we still have no idea why she acted to the extent she did. She was so incoherant and screaming so loud. That's why it was obvious after The initial conversation that she had some kind of disability. Once the car started it was like flipping a switch and she was ok after that.

[Excaliber]

She was mentally altered and you let her just drive away?
Maybe it's just me but people that aren't completely coherent shouldn't be operating a vehicle.
Of course, I wasn't there and I don't know how she was acting. I'm
just going off your description of her mental status.

You know I thought about her being ok to drive. Once her car started she was pretty normal. That's when she said thanks and gave me the hug. She drove away normal too.

My wife and I felt she shouldent have a DL more for the fact that she couldn't even start her car. However, we still have no idea why she acted to the extent she did. She was so incoherant and screaming so loud. That's why it was obvious after The initial conversation that she had some kind of disability. Once the car started it was like flipping a switch and she was ok after that.

Some folks don't handle stress well, and some do. She didn't - you did.

[Keith B]

She was mentally altered and you let her just drive away?
Maybe it's just me but people that aren't completely coherent shouldn't be operating a vehicle.
Of course, I wasn't there and I don't know how she was acting. I'm
just going off your description of her mental status.

You know I thought about her being ok to drive. Once her car started she was pretty normal. That's when she said thanks and gave me the hug. She drove away normal too.

My wife and I felt she shouldent have a DL more for the fact that she couldn't even start her car. However, we still have no idea why she acted to the extent she did. She was so incoherant and screaming so loud. That's why it was obvious after The initial conversation that she had some kind of disability. Once the car started it was like flipping a switch and she was ok after that.

Some folks don't handle stress well, and some do. She didn't - you did.

She may not have really been mentally ill or chemically altered, but may have been one that suffered from panic attacks and/or overly melodramatic when in a situation that puts them in a non-standard condition.

However, she may have been a lot more on the ball that you think. If she had of been meek and mild and asked for help, some people would go on their way and not stop. This way she really got your attention quickly and you resolved her issue post haste.

[Medic218]

You know Keith, I thought about that too.
I thought, what if she's just acting out to get more attention and to actually get someone ask if she's ok.
It's a lot harder to say no to someone once you engage them and they ask for help. Just walking away would be a major jerk move....and though I may not want to help at this point I would almost feel like I had to after having already butted in to her business.

Some old people are as sly as a fox!