Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tachypsychia is the term that describes the perception of people under
stress that time is moving in slow motion. During an attack, victims often
perceive the attacker as if he is moving in slow motion. This is caused by
the brain processing information more quickly to allow for a faster defen-
sive response. Tachypsychia is a positive side effect that can enhance your
defensive ability.
Auditory exclusion is another common effect. This is the brain's ability
to block hearing while focused on an extreme threat. For example, many
police officers involved in shooting incidents report that they never heard
the sound of gunfire, either from the assailant's weapon or their own. The
brain simply blocks auditory input to allow you to focus completely on the
threat that you perceive. This effect has both positive and negative rami-
fications. The increased ability to focus is a positive. However, auditory
exclusion can cause you not to hear things that you need to, such as the
sound of another attacker coming at you from behind. We know of no way
to moderate this effect. The only training technique that is successful is
to train to “check six,” or glance behind you each time the opportunity
presents itself.
Tunnel vision refers to the narrowing of your field of view as you focus
on a particular thing. The authors have experienced this effect many times
and find it to be quite dangerous. With tunnel vision, you lose peripheral
vision, which prevents you from identifying additional assailants or other
dangers that may be approaching from the side. Training yourself to keep
your eyes moving can mitigate the effect of tunnel vision. Combat shooters,
for example, are taught to scan their immediate area after they engage a
particular threat. They do this to avoid “tunneling” in on one threat and
becoming oblivious to others.
A final effect that must be examined is known as cognitive dissonance.
This refers to a disassociation with the actual events as they occur. Some-
times, during a crisis or attack, the victims feel they are watching the
events unfold as if they were happening to someone else. Obviously, this
reaction is perhaps the most dangerous of all. Disassociated minds are
rejecting the idea that something so terrible could be happening to them.
The disassociation is a way for the mind to cope with the sudden and
unpleasant reality that is now confronting the person. The danger lies in
the fact that a person in this state, by denying the event as it happens,
is also negating his or her own ability to effectively fight back or run.
Anyone can find him- or herself in a situation that is life threatening. Each
of us must realize that it can happen to us. Every day we read of terrible
