Why do victims of violent attacks sometimes take no immediate action, and how can we learn to react appropriately?
Anne Barnfield
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London, Ontario, Canada
A violent attack is a highly stressful situation. In the past, it was thought that responses to this were the classic “fight or flight”, to fight back or flee. More recently, the concept was modified to “fight, flight or freeze”, which acknowledges that, in some cases, an individual doesn’t immediately react.
These actions are part of the “alarm” stage of the stress response (followed by resistance and exhaustion). In this stage high physiological arousal occurs; the sympathetic nervous system fires up the body by releasing the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin, also known as epinephrine.
The stress response isn’t all physiological, however. Cognitive appraisal and perceived control – how the person thinks about the situation and perceived threat – are important. There is thus an integration of psychological and physiological systems, with activation of different neural pathways involved.
One way to learn to react appropriately is to prepare for such experiences by training both body and mind to be ready to react (to fight or flee) rather than to freeze. Participation in traditional martial arts such as karate, judo or taekwondo can be helpful.
Although one might think this form of training would lead to aggression, it actually has the opposite effect, due to the self-discipline it encourages. Training in self-regulation thus occurs. Visual imagery is used in learning and practice – imagining blocking attacks and countering the assailant’s moves.
Research has shown that imagining actions tends to activate the same brain pathways as does performing them, and training in martial arts would have that effect.
The person who has practised making a fast response in training sessions will then be more likely to realise this in real life, for self-defence in the stressful situation of a physical attack.
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