"I shouldn't be alive."
On July 13th, former U.S. President Trump was shot and injured in Pennsylvania. The next day, he spoke to the Washington Examiner about this alleged "assassination attempt," claiming his survival was pure chance.
During an interview with the Washington Examiner news, Trump revealed that when the gunman fired, he had just turned to look at the teleprompter. This unexpected move saved his life. "I don't usually take my eyes off the audience. If I hadn't turned, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation."
He recalled, "Amazingly, I not only turned my head, but the timing and angle were just right. If I'd only turned halfway, the bullet would've hit the back of my brain. If I'd turned the other way, it would've gone through my skull.Because the screen was high up, I lifted my head. The angle was so perfect, the odds were maybe one in a thousand. By rights, I shouldn't have survived." Reports say Trump turned to look at immigration stats on the right-side teleprompter, putting his head at "just the right angle" for the bullet to only graze his ear.
The Associated Press notes this is the most serious assassination attempt on a U.S. president or candidate since Reagan in 1981, reigniting concerns about political polarization and escalating violence in America.
While Trump attributes his survival to luck, it makes us wonder: what happens to our bodies in life-or-death moments?
Biologically, Trump's incredible escape seems linked to the "fight or flight" response, an age-old human defense mechanism.
When facing threats, the brain's amygdala activates instantly. It signals the hypothalamus, which triggers the pituitary gland to release stress hormones. These rapidly increase blood pressure and sugar while suppressing the immune system, preparing for quick action.
Simultaneously, adrenaline is released, boosting blood flow to muscles, heart output, and dilating pupils. This puts our body in a temporary "enhanced" state: faster breathing, accelerated heartbeat and blood flow, widened pupils, all providing more energy for quicker reactions. This chain reaction happens in an instant, but it takes 20-60 minutes for the body to calm down afterward.
Like power-ups in video games, these "fight or flight" responses are our body's natural boost. They redirect blood flow to muscles, increase glucose and fat release for energy, and dilate pupils for better environmental awareness. This sequence of reactions temporarily enhances our body to better handle danger.
Specifically, according to By David K. Spierer, Eddie Griffiths and Tricia Sterland, The fight-or-flight response originates from the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which operates involuntarily and is responsible for regulating bodily functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, and pupillary response.
When confronted with a challenge or threat, the brain processes the information and the ANS decides if fighting or fleeing would be more beneficial for survival. When the ANS is activated, it leads to the release of hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. Furthermore, these hormones cause changes in the body as described in the paragraph above, and prepares the body to either confront the threat (fight) or escape from it (flight).
In short, the fight-or-flight response is a crucial survival mechanism that prepares the body for immediate action in the face of danger. However, chronic activation due to persistent stress can have detrimental health effects. Understanding and measuring this response, particularly through Heart rate variability (HRV), is essential for improving performance and health outcomes in high-stress environments.
Sadly - or fortunately, it happened too fast to know if Trump's head turn was luck or instinct - perhaps even he himself has no idea either. But it gives us a glimpse of that primal, reliable "get out of jail free card" in our genetic code. It's what got us through ancient perils and historical upheavals - and what makes us pump our fists after hard-won victories in video games.
Next time you're in a tense situation and feel your heart racing and palms sweating, remember: it might just be your inner "superhero" waking up, ready to protect you.
Work Cited:
[1] Wikipedia contributors. (2024, June 2). Fight-or-flight response. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:55, July 21, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fight-or-flight_response&oldid=1226861222
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