Adrenaline
Friend or foe?
Did you know that when frightened, our body produce's a hormone called “Adrenaline” into our blood stream. This helps to prepare us, so we can react to the danger. It gives us the strength to fight or to run away.
Some of the things this does are:
~Blood is sent to the muscles and organs~
so they can work harder
~Blood is reduced in less important areas~
such as digestion, this is why we get the feeling of butterflies in the stomach
~Time distortion~
everything seems to go in slow motion
~Heightened senses~
such as smell and hearing
~Tunnel vision~
you become very focused on the thing that frightens you
~Dry mouth~
~voice tremor~
~Sweating~
In times that we feel threatened, these feelings can affect the way that we react.
We sometimes freeze, we sometimes feel sick, we sometimes feel panic.
But if we understand these feelings and realise that they are part of a process that our body uses to protect us, then we can control them, and use them to our advantage.
Taking deep controlled breaths can help and so can using a karate shout (Kiai)