Daydreaming make you more/less resilient to life's little surprises?

[Shadow Cat Sam]

I am not young and have been around the block a time or three. And then some. I tend to function better in crises situations than in hum-drum, day to day life. And while I am sure that my life experiences contribute to that;  it was being that way to start with that led me into high stress life styles as a youth and young adult.

I have met DDers that completely shut down when confronted with "crap". But also ones that are preconditioned to operating under stress because of the intensity of their DD's. And a bit more of both than a comparable sampling of non DDers would yield. 

If a car jumps the curb at you, how do you respond? Register the threat and try to get out of the way a like a regular Joe. Freeze for that vital 1 second and get tagged. Long gone and you take the little old lady walking behind you with.

Because of where I live we occasionally get waves of home robberies during the day when people are out. I had someone try and break in today while I was home.  No craziness ensued,  but it certainly could have.  I "caught" them and kept them for the police.  Wasn't until after the fact that I realized: Not only was I completely unstressed; it had been fun! That is not normal.

Do any of you freeze? do any of you have a Spiddey sense?

[Elizabeth G]

I used to be that way, and then I gained a bunch of weight and stressed my adrenal glands out and have very little tolerance to stress.  When I was in basic training for the Marines, my ability to remove myself from the situation by going into my mind made it a lot easier for me than for the other girls. Anytime I am in a continuously stressful situation, I feel like I handle it better than many people I know. Can't say I would do what you did though, I have no idea what I would do in that situation.

[greyartist]

interesting concept. Unfortunately I am a freezer due to years of working in the electrical field. Where it's usually not the shock that kills you but the fall from the ladder when you jerk back. :) I have always been an introvert, and we tend to calculate things before stressing out. More of a "lets get this done" then a "what are we going to do" kind.

BUT, I have not always had MD, and since I have I think I maybe less effected on the surface by stressful situations, more numb to most things. But when things get really stressful at work I find that am more likely to get overwhelmed and shut down. I have found myself at work just starring at the PC screen, not able to do anything for a time.

I have not found myself in a crisis situation so I don't know how that kind of stress would affect me. Just work related stress.

[Shadow Cat Sam]

stressed my adrenal glands out...

 

I just had surgery for thyroid cancer, and have wondered if it is due to a lifetime of overtaxing my endocrine system.

[Gina Black]

Depends on the situation. I am a freezer when the stressful situation is social, but I tend to be very cold-blooded in the rest. 

In both cases I am quite more edgy than the average, indeed!

[Wish Upon A Wish]

I never get into situations like that so I have no idea.... my DD self would be fine with it, but me?... I don't know.

Though if it's social I'm likely to go quiet.

[Lady Tuesday]

hmm...if you're talking in terms of freak accidents, well my first reflexes are usually to freeze and let whatever it is to happen.  i tend to see the accident in slow-motion, even if my mind is telling my body to try and prevent the accident from happening.  but as soon as it's done, my body unfreezes and i'm able to handle the situation pretty well.

but if you're talking about social surprises, like running into an ex, or doing something embarrassing, i find it easy to go one with whatever i'm doing and pretend nothing unusual is going on.  and THAT i'm am sure of is due to my daydreaming.  it's so easy for me to create some imaginary world, whenever/wherever.  i think this is why i'm able to handle stressful situations better than others.  i'm the one that tends to remain calm and think clearly.  i feel like one of the main reasons i daydream is to use it as a coping mechanism for when life gets hard/boring.  i can either pretend a scenario is calmer or more exciting than it actually is.

[Rashomon Effect]

I'm not self conscious. Being self conscious slows down a person's reaction time. They are thinking, "what if I'm doing this wrong, what will folks think of me if I do this wrong, if I do this right, I will be a hero." Being self conscious does not turn itself off in a crisis. So, folks who are self absorbed and preoccupied with their own thoughts are slower to react.

I am an aggressive and passionate person. I trust my instincts and am better able to move forward wholeheartedly than most people.  That is one of the reasons I am more successful in general.

For practically my entire adult life, I have been in a position of authority and the person others look to to take care of and resolve situations. Situations of all types; arguments, machine problems, injuries, computer problems, difficult situations of any type.

I've always liked being a fixer. I've met fixers who are low key and quiet. I admire those fixers. But, they typically respond slower and are more reflective. I'm an analytical thinker. Being analytical has it's place. It is not when a car has jumped the curb and is heading toward you and others.