Don’t let all your hard training be wiped out by a shot of adrenalin!

Auditory Shut-Down and Tunnel Vision are real and they can begin with the flick of a switch.

Whenever a First Responder switches on the lights and sirens – and especially when one of your own is in trouble – your adrenalin puts you into high gear in less than one second.

This means physiologically your body takes over and unless you’re prepared for that, you lose some of your edge.

In this video I talk about the difference between First Defenders (usually private sector security guards / officers) and First Responders (usually public sector police, fire fighters and Emergency Medical Services).

And here’s the tip: Anytime you hear sirens, take a deep breath in through your noses, hold it for a second or two or three, then slowly breathe it out through your mouth. Do this a couple or a few times ANYTIME you hear sirens and this will condition you to do it – and calm yourself – when the real thing happens. That means when you’re responding for real, you will breath and self-calm automatically.

This is called “setting a trigger”. When the “trigger” of hearing sirens is set off, you automatically begin to calm yourself when the adrenalin begins to rush through your body. This means you’ll arrive at the scene safer and more clear headed so you can do you job better.

Please feel free to comment with any tips of your own.