HOW SAFE ARE YOU? knowledge is POWER

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Have you ever been in a situation or environment where your internal alarm alerted your brain to assess potential danger? The scenario could be as simple as a strange gentlemen following you around the grocery store to hearing a strange noise walking to your car. If so, this is commonly known as the fight or flight response. Most individuals are familiar with “fight or flight,” which is the ability to assess immediate danger with a successful outcome, or the ability to recognize the need to withdraw and flee from the scene. In fight mode, hormones such as adrenaline are released in the sympathetic nervous system to prepare you for battle. On the other hand, if you view the challenge as too powerful your initial response is then to avoid the situation and take flight (run).

What most are unaware of is the third potential reaction, which is the “freeze” response. The freeze response occurs when the subconscious part of the brain takes over and the higher functions such as thinking, reason and fine motor movements shut off, causing an individual to become paralyzed in fear.

Why is it important to address the fight, flight and freeze response? It is important to recognize these factors, so you are able to reduce the freeze response through muscle memory, or a state of dependent learning. When women experience a similar state of adrenaline to that of being assaulted and are trained appropriately to respond, the subconscious does not know the difference between this and real-life, thus reducing the potential freeze response from occurring in a real-life scenario.

Another key component to self defense, is the ability to establish healthy boundaries between family, friends and strangers. Living in the midwest, most individuals have the belief that everyone has their best interest at heart. What may have been a belief in the past, has now become an unpleasant reality, that not everyone is looking out for your well being. Yes, this is scary, however it is reality — a reality through the growth of a community, comes the growth of crime. Do not lose your faith, but listen to your intuition.

Understanding the three types of responses (fight, flight, freeze), along with boundary setting, leads into the physical components and key situational confrontations for muscle memory, where your body reacts automatically when the fight is inevitable. There are a variety of self defense programs; however, most programs do not bring an individual into the state of emotions needed to prevent a freeze response from occuring.

SEPT. 24 – OCT. 29

6:00 – 7:15 PM each Monday

"When Mourning Dawns" is our six-week series that looks at the seasons of the year to guide our conversations about the seasons of your grief. Preregistration is required and space is limited. Please call or email us if you have questions or interest in this series. for more info: boulgerfuneralhome.com

These meetings are led by our Grief Support Coordinators Sonja Kjar and Ann Jacobson. 701-237-6441 griefsupport@boulgerfuneralhome.com bellbanks.com/Darla

TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION pertaining to MPX Fitness’s revamped women’s self-defense courses or to book, contact Mariah Prussia at mpxmma@gmail. com or call MPX Fitness at 701-293-0002.

To learn more, check out the free informative meetings open to public: August 13 at 7:00 p.m. August 19 at 2:00 p.m.

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