Calmer In Urgent/Emergency Situations Than Non-Emergencies

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I am wondering if anyone else finds themselves to be calm, collected, focused and less anxious, when a situation occurs, of which would require immediate attention. For example, a co-worker cuts the tip of their finger off, and is bleeding profusely, or similar situation, where immediate, medical attention might be required, would you find yourself to immediately, spring into action, while 100% of your focus is kept on getting from point A to point B, without missing a single step?

Ive noticed it about myself, on a few occassions, throughout my lifetime. I become far more anxious, ungrounded and less able to focus, when it comes to matters of far less urgency.

On a different note, do you find it hard to talk about things that happen to you, while, easier to be there for others, if/when experiencing things of significance?

Very much so and that's why I volunteered to be the person at work who became a First Responder. I always half joked that I would probably find cardiac arrests easier to deal with that paper cuts: at least with the serious issue I know exactly what to do an there is no way you can possibly make the situation much worse.

That theory was put to the test when a coworker literally collapsed mid sentence and went into cardiac arrest. We weren't able to save him but we definitely gave him a fighting chance. It was a weird experience: the training just automatically kicked in without me even realizing it.

I do experience this a lot. Although because of being somewhat of a sadist, at times I also feel a flurry of excitement and happiness when I see people, who are not my friends, in some sort of potential lethal danger. It can turn my mood from thinking about how my I hate my life to being completely focused on such situation at hand. As if this urgent/emergency situation is a fidget spinner/cube.

Calmer? Yep.

Able to make rational decisions? Nope.

At a previous job I used to repair vintage fountain pens (training myself up to do that anyways) when I accidentally burned up a celluloid barrel and the smoke got thicker and thicker. I kind of just stood there talking myself through the process of what if it is actually on fire inside the barrel in my head while everyone else ran around in a panic. My logical decision from my calm, long pause was: "I best not burn myself" *casually drops barrel on the floor* just as a colleague came and threw water on it.

That left a memorable burn mark on the carpet

I can understand the focus element of this - it prevents focusing on situations of less urgency (how much you hate your life) to being purely focused on what needs to be done. It's simpler.
But why would you wish harm on other forms of life?
I'm better in urgent situations too - there is less distraction and it is simpler and more straightforward. Less room for me to obsess and double check my behaviour and doubt and question and think and get angry.

Thank you so much, for sharing your experiences. All of which, resonate with me, in some way, or another. GiantHockeyFan, what you experience, perfectly, describes what happens to me.

Urgent situations - far easier to deal with.

One reason being that for a lot of those I would have some idea what to expect. I will have covered some of the possibilities in the "Instant Aid" and "First response" training courses we get at work from time to time

Very much so. There are clearly defined priorities and actions to be taken in emergent situations, unlike the vast cloudy mass of grey area in daily life. Further, no one is going to snipe at me later for being rude. I find the clarity of purpose and action refreshing.

Of course, if the emergent situation relates to injury, trauma, or danger to one of my important people, I'll be sure to set aside time shortly thereafter for a truly epic wig-out.

Yes. I was the one in the labs who ran toward the noise whenever something went wrong (breakage, injury, explosion). Instant response, before I even had time to think.

I think this is one of the evolutionary advantages we provide to the species. Really.

Yes, but my usefulness is kind of limited.
They're kind of like zen moments, when I just react without thinking and am amazed when I look back and try to figure out how I did what I did.
I think it's part of why I'm an adrenaline junkie, and into jazz.

I think it's hard-wiring. You may save a life, while everyone else is still trying to figure out what's happened.

This makes so much sense...

This is something I wondered, while reminded of how effective I become, in emergency situations, and what compelled me to inquire, here. I, suddenly/unexpectedly, had to respond to a mandatory evacuation from my home, last night.

Thank you for chiming in...

^^ oh dear. Are you OK?

You might be onto something here!

At work I was an Emergency Responder (one step below Paramedic) for our H2S lab and every time we had a drill I was able to think clearly, put on the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and run towards the danger of H2S exposure in the lab. One time I was able to drag a co-worker out of the lab whom I thought was unconscious and not breathing and I dragged him out a good 50 feet with my arms under his arms no problem. I would have given him mouth-to-mouth except he suddenly got up on his own and I realized it was just a drill. All the while I was calm and cool headed.

During the many times that I've been very clumsy (Autism, eh?) and fallen and hurt myself with one time especially where I sliced open my elbow with blood everywhere and required many stitches. I simply looked at it with a very logical mindset and sought first aid and then drove myself to the hospital to get patched up. All the while I remained calm and cool headed.

This is a very interesting aspect that many of us seem to share. I wonder if this is Autism related or simply a wild coincidence. This is definitely worth further study.

Of course, if my routine gets disrupted or bright lights appear in my rearview mirror in my car, look out baby. To say nothing if a child starts crying nearby...

And on and on and on. Interesting. Isn't it?

Indeed.

(It’s fascinating to read, how similar your experience is, to C2V’s... just, stated differently)