When it comes to perfecting driving skills, everyone agrees that there is no substitute for practice. As most everyone’s won experience shows, repetition builds muscle memory and improves response time; what initially feels unnatural or uncomfortable becomes automatic, second nature. Just as turning into an oversteer-induced skid, perhaps because you hit a patch of ice, at first seems counterintuitive, with repetition it becomes a response that happens seemingly before you've even had a chance to think about it. For some, those skills are perfected and become automatic by virtue of their "stick time" as a driver. Spend enough time behind the wheel of a car consciously rehearsing and applying what you've learned in training, and your skills will sharpen, becoming more instinctive and sustainable.
There is another aspect to improving performance that is often not discussed or developed and is an important adjunct to actual time spent behind the wheel. These skills are not driving skills or an understanding of the laws of physics governing the handing and control of the car (“control the car, control the situation”), but skills that support the most critical part of the equation — the driver. It is the driver who brings another level of complexity to the act of driving, especially when in the midst of responding to a critical incident: he or she brings the human elements of physiology, psychology, life experience, mind set and more. Beyond knowing “what to do” and applying skills and techniques to maximize vehicle performance, the driver must adopt a specific mental attitude. This attitude supports a driver’s ability to manage stress while responding to an imminent threat. This attitude is an essential part of the “tool kit” security drivers need to have at the ready whenever they’re behind the wheel. The blending of personal skills sometimes referred to as “the inner game”, and driving skills or “the outer game”, is absolutely essential for security drivers who seek to consistently perform at the top of their game when it counts the most – when their lives and the lives of their passengers are on the line. And yet, it has been largely ignored by both drivers and trainers.
Fear Factor - Managing the Stress Response in Security Driving
There is no doubt that security drivers, given the nature of their job, are often working with an elevated stress level. The responsibilities are great and the ability to perform optimally at a moment’s notice add to the level of stress experienced by even the most seasoned drivers. Driving skills, mental alertness, physical conditioning, keen observation and critical thinking are among the skills and conditions professional drivers rely on in order to increase the likelihood of a “successful” response to a challenging or threatening situation. Equally important, but often missing, is an understanding of the impact that stress has on a driver’s ability to deliver on all those fronts as well as how to maximize the positive aspects of the stress response while minimizing or managing the negative ones.
What Is Stress?
The term “stress” is most commonly used to refer to the physiological and psychological response we have to events that disrupt our emotional or psychological balance. We also experience stress as a reaction to a perceived threat or dangerous situation that has the potential to cause us physical harm. In “manageable“ doses, stress can help improve our functioning in certain situations by keeping us alert and focused. However, prolonged or repeated exposure to stress can dramatically impact physical health, emotional well-being and ultimately, your ability to optimally perform your duties as a security driver.
Fight or Flight
Any trauma, fear, or perception of a threat sets off a chemical response in the brain. When faced with a threat, the body's defenses kick into the “fight-or-flight” response, an automatic process that involves a rapid series of biological changes. When we sense danger, whether it be a physical danger or a threat to our emotional balance, our brain responds by releasing stress hormones such as adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol into our bloodstream, preparing us to fight or flee. Our heart pounds, muscles tense, blood flow to our large muscles increases preparing us to run faster and fight harder, our pupils dilate so we can see better, our blood sugar increases giving us an energy boost and speeding our reaction time, and blood vessels under the skin constrict to limit blood loss in case of an injury.
The biological stress response is meant to protect and support us, and after thousands of years it still does; for anyone whose job can potentially put him or her in life-or-death situations, it can literally be a lifesaver. Similar to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and military personnel who regularly deal with stressful events, security drivers can also be faced with highly stressful circumstances, both physical and psychological. However, the very reactions that protect them can also become an obstacle to a timely, effective response. For example, in studies done with both combat veterans and athletes, it was found that the visual narrowing that occurs automatically with the stress response also can cause a person to physically retreat (back up) from a situation in order to see more by widening the visual field. This is in response to the brain’s demand for more information relating to the threat. In the case of security driver’s this particular response is especially problematic, as physically retreating may not be an option that is readily available. Learning how to balance the competing needs and signals can be key to a security driver’s maximizing certain physiological responses to stress. No one can avoid stress completely, but we can learn to counteract it and its effects.
Understanding the Fear Response
In a job where the potential for threats to occur can be chronic, proactively addressing the effects of stress becomes an extremely important issue. By recognizing stressors and understanding what has been termed the “Survival Stress Reaction” by Bruce Siddle, (the noted police trainer and researcher), you can counteract the effects of the stress response by developing its polar-opposite, the relaxation response. To know how to counteract stress and mitigate its negative impact, it necessary to understand the brain’s response to fear and the resulting physiological effects.
The fear response is hard-wired into our brain. As mentioned earlier, it was designed to keep us alive. Information about the outside world is processed by a portion of the brain called the amygdala which determines the significance of the information and triggers responses like fighting, running or freezing. The amygdala stores our emotional memory. Emotions such as fear are an unconscious process that has been blueprinted at the cellular level in our brain and, as such, can’t simply be ignored. Once an emotion is turned on, it is difficult to exert conscious control over it. When triggered, the physiological reactions take place and there is little we can do to stop them from being triggered; however, we can influence them. For instance, many of the changes that take place stem from a rise in blood pressure, and that is something we can influence.
The Stress Reaction
The stress reaction causes changes in heart rate, vision, hearing, motor skills, memory and critical thinking. Because the body is getting ready to fight or flee, blood flow changes and heart rate increases. At certain increased heart rates some motor skills actually peak, or improve. As they continue to rise, however, some of those advantages are lost. For example:
- Fine complex motor skills such as finger dexterity, eye-hand coordination and multi-tasking peak between 100-110 BPM (beats per minute) but drop off rapidly at 115 BPM, and above that become more difficult;
- If the heart rate continues to rise to 145 beats per minute, most people lose gross motor skills. These are movements that involve a series of muscle groups requiring eye-hand coordination, precision, tracking and timing - exactly those most critical to security driving. These skills peak between 115-145 BPM, and drop off rapidly if the heart rate continues upward. Also at this rate, the part of the brain involved in hearing shuts down;
- Typical heart rates during imminent life-threatening events can range from 175-200 beats per minute or even higher. At this rate, it becomes difficult to focus on close objects and it is not uncommon for people to have difficulty remembering what they have seen, heard or did. At even higher rates, people do things repetitively that are ineffective or even show irrational behavior.
Since the average resting heart rate for most people is around 72 BPM, a threat perceived by a security driver can elevate his/her heart rate to 175 BPM in a matter of seconds. And as your heart rate goes up, your access to critical functions, physical and cognitive, can diminish. This is when the relaxation response becomes the most useful tool in your “tool box” as it can be used to keep the heart rate at levels that foster peak performance.
Relaxed Alertness
The relaxation response creates a physiological state of rest that is the exact opposite of the stress response. The relaxation response reduces stress hormones, slows down muscles and organs, and increases blood flow to the brain; it brings the system back into balance. When the relaxation response is activated:
- Heart rate drops
- Breathing becomes slower and deeper
- Blood pressure drops
- Muscles relax
One of the simplest, most effective ways to accomplish this is through controlled breathing. To counter the stress response requires breathing slowly and deeply in order to increase the amount of oxygen getting to the brain: breathe from your diaphragm, not your chest (your stomach should be rising and falling, not your upper chest). Breathe in for a count of three, hold for a count of three, and exhale for a count of three. Applying this breathing technique, known as autogenic breathing, several times in succession keeps the heart rate within 115-145 BPM—the range in which gross motor skills and reaction time are maximized.
It is important to note that the more the stress response system is activated, the harder it is to shut off. Instead of leveling off once the crisis has passed, stress hormones, heart rate, and blood pressure remain elevated even after the stress-inducing incident has passed. Anyone who is consistently in high stress situations, or who regularly deals with a variety of stressors, such as a security driver or protection specialist, is especially vulnerable to long-term stress effects. Avoiding or, at the very least, effectively managing these log term effects requires adopting proven relaxation and stress management techniques as a regular practice.
Some proven techniques and best practices for reducing stress and enabling the relaxation response include:
Physical Conditioning/Exercise/Recreation - A combination of strength training, flexibility training and aerobic conditioning is optimal. The confidence that can accompany feeling physically fit can help offset stress effects. Any type of regular exercise, physical activity or recreational activity that allows you to expend energy, increase your heart rate, tone muscles or just bring enjoyment can be an antidote for stress. Yoga, a combination of physical postures and meditation, has been used successfully in helping active-duty soldiers in Iraq reduce physical, emotional, mental and even subconscious tension.
Sleep and Diet - Stress is hard on the body physically and can be very draining. Sleep allows you to recover. Adequate amounts of sleep can help improve your overall health and stress levels. Proper nutrition, healthy food, minimal alcohol use all contribute to a healthy body and restful sleep. Complex B vitamins also help mitigate stress effects.
Centering - This is a practice often used by athletes to stay focused and avoid distractions. Sports psychologists recommend centering techniques to reduce both anxiety and stress. The technique involves focusing on the rate of breathing and maintaining a slow but steady pace, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. It may help to repeat a mantra, or key word that reminds you of your focus, such as “relax”.
Mental Rehearsal - Also called visualization, is the repeated rehearsing of what we may have to do in a given situation. This will effectively decrease anxiety, allow enhanced performance, and help "tune" the nervous system for action. More about this technique will be discussed in greater detail in an upcoming article.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
When it comes to driving techniques, practice makes perfect: reaction time improves, actions become second nature, and responses seem to come before thoughts can form. Stress reduction and relaxation practices also need to be second nature and can only become so with practice. Incorporating them into a regular routine can help security drivers reach and maintain peak performance levels. Building stress hardiness and resiliency skills into your routine also support on-going stress reduction and management. How to become naturally more resilient? There will be more on that in the next segment. |
