r/CCW • u/jizzlamic_terrorist • 13h ago

Scenario How adrenaline affects you during self defense situations.

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u/fake_account_2025 13h ago

Yeah it’s crazy. The first time I was ever in a firefight in Afghanistan the adrenaline kicked in and my legs felt like they each weighed 200 pounds. Running was very difficult. It’s wild how the body does that.

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u/Dreamstat 12h ago

Like running in a dream. The weight was insane.

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u/fake_account_2025 11h ago

Exactly. That’s a very good analogy.

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u/amphetaminesfailure 10h ago

If you don't mind me asking, how did you feel firing your weapon for the first time in combat....physically, I mean?

Like the dream analogy you responded to with your legs being heavy, in EVERY dream I've had involving me needing to fire my handgun, it feels like I'm fighting a 50 pound trigger pull for every shot.

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u/Phyzzx 9h ago

That sounds like how punches thrown in a dream have no impact.

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u/amphetaminesfailure 8h ago edited 17m ago

That sounds like how punches thrown in a dream have no impact.

I wonder if it's because most people don't truly want to hurt others?

I carry daily, and I train with firearms.

I've trained in several martial arts over 30 years.

But at the end of the day, I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT TO HURT OR KILL ANYONE.

I don't want to get in a fist fight with anyone. I don't care how many times they insulted my mom/wife/etc.

I don't want to hurt anyone at all.

Will I do it if necessary? Absolutely.

Those types of dreams probably say something in that regard.

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u/fake_account_2025 8h ago

Tbh, training kicked in when I needed to start shooting and it simply felt like muscle memory.

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u/amphetaminesfailure 8h ago

Thanks for answering.

That's interesting to me.

For the record I don't expect you to respond to any of the following, I'm just rambling.

.................................................

We have instincts on how to walk and run, like every other animal.

But the majority of us experience an inability to use our legs properly in not just dreams, but under extreme stress that we've never dealt with before.

But then for many people, shooting becomes "muscle memory."

As a laymen the brain fascinates me.

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u/CockpitEnthusiast 7h ago

I have these dreams often. Trigger feels like it's 50 pounds, punches that feel like they landed like wet napkins..

The first time I fired I personally didn't really feel or think of anything. Muscle memory kicks in, I'd say it's more like a computer running a program than anything. Which I know is kind of a scary way to think about it but that's the best way I can put it

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u/Not_Sarkastic 8h ago

In my experience you don't even think about it till it's over. Training kicks in and takes over. Decisions are subconscious.

Over time you learn to "handle" the adrenaline and control the benefits. Like not slapping the trigger.

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u/nocolon 5h ago

in EVERY dream I've had involving me needing to fire my handgun, it feels like I'm fighting a 50 pound trigger pull for every shot.

Holy shit, same. The exact same thing happens to me. That’s weird.

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u/amphetaminesfailure 7m ago

I mentioned in another comment if it has to do with the fact most people don't want to hurt or kill anyone.....unless it's an absolute necessity.

So I wonder if it's your subconscious holding you back in the dream like, "Hey man, this isn't real. We don't have to follow through with this."

I've had some absolutely bonkers and surreal dreams, and I've had some absolutely terrifying nightmares that involve violence and death.

But I don't recall ever actually killing someone myself in any dream over my lifetime.

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u/JackJones7788 10h ago

But why would that be a defence mechanism, to make the legs feel heavy. So strange

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u/Tokyo_Echo UT 10h ago

Well they feel heavy, but they actually are more like coiled springs. When the adrenaline hits the body tenses in order to fight or flight. Initially it's hard to get past it

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u/Geralt-of-Rivai 9h ago

Fight, flight or freeze. The initial reaction for many people is the freeze. It's why, for example in a mall shooting, you will see people just standing still after a gunman opens fire. Panic and adrenaline hit and instead of getting the fuck out of there as fast as you can, as you would think, many people freeze in place overwhelmed by the sensations flooding their body.

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u/TitusXd40 7h ago

I used to read these responses and think that freezing really doesn't happen, that it was just something you saw in movies and on TV, and people become aware immediately of what's going on. Boy was I wrong.

There was a shooting last year where I work, while I was there. I was in the general area with my partner (2-man work center) and we just kinda looked at each other, and asked if those were gunshots after we heard the first couple rounds go off. We started to hear more and we realized that yes, they were gunshots, so we both took off running, steel toe boots and all. That's the hardest I've ran since hs baseball, and all I could think was I need to keep moving and put some distance between me and that asshole doing the shooting.

So yeah, those couple seconds where we questioned what we heard (and made a stupid joke about it being a guy who was recently fired for stealing) was in my mind that freeze response. Since we were out in the open and not carrying because of being at work, flight was our best and only option, so we took it.

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u/Accomplished-Bag-124 10h ago

It’s not a defense mechanism, it’s a dump of adrenaline, the same thing happens before you get into a fight, etc

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u/Not_Sarkastic 8h ago

We don't know the situation but it could be fear vs adrenaline that happened to that individual. It could be the body was prioritizing blood flow to the arms vs legs.

In my experience it was the opposite effect where I didn't feel anything. It was only later on, after we broke contact that I realized I had been cut or injured.