Pull-Ups and Brain Freeze

Sometimes we’re just plain stupid. Yes, I said the “S” word. And I’ll get back to that.

I promised myself I’d never tell this story because it’s a bit too embarrassing.

Now, I’m 56. Why should I care??? (In case you don’t know, it’s a Bluey quote.  Click here if you don’t.)

So here goes. I have one of those pull-up bars that you put at the top of the door jam. It’s designed to hold my weight based on gravity. Just remember that gravity is key… and I usually take that into consideration. Not this time.

I’m on the bar doing my pull-ups and, for some unfortunate reason, I try to readjust my hands. Consequently, that takes all the weight off the bar. In a split second, I’m falling, with the bar in hand. I was also in the slight swing of the upward movement, which upon falling forced me way off balance. That’s right, back first. Not a good way to fall. Especially when, directly underneath me, is the water pressure gauge for our well pump.

And you guessed it. I slammed into the gauge with my back ribs. Incredible pain! But that took a back seat as I immediately became aware of a pressurized explosion of water coming from the broken gauge.

Yep. Niagara Falls in the water closet!

I turned off the water, only to notice the shut-off valve is after the gauge, meaning Niagara was still flowing. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. My brain was frozen. Things happened so fast that by the time my wife and kids, who heard the commotion, came downstairs to see the flood and the pull-up bar on the floor, no one was there…

In a complete panic, I left the gusher and made a dash to my neighbor, Glen, an all-around smart guy. He asked calmly if I turned the water off. Yes. How about the fuse to the well pump? Oh.

Did I know that was what I should have done in the first place? Yes! Then why, why didn’t I think of it?

Enter, brain freeze.  That’s right:  fight, flight, or freeze. This was definitely freeze.

When you experience a stressful event, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, followed by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; in turn, these release neural impulses and hormones that can affect behavioral and cognitive functions — including those related to decision-making. Yes, I looked this up.

I was “stupid” at the moment, and it took someone else not in my state of mind to bring intelligence back. Thank you, Glen!

This is what happens in conflict, stressful situations, and perceptions of danger. The minute someone approaches us with a “touchy” subject, and we’re not trained properly, our brain immediately goes into survival mode. That’s when we get aggressive or defensive and say and do things under normal conditions we’d never say.

There is a simple solution that is scientifically proven. Breathe. Pause and take a deep breath. 1…2…3…4. Hold. 1…2…3…4…Breath out 1…2…3…4… Do this a few times and it quickly lowers your sympathetic nervous system response.

Another is the pause, step back, and hold up your hands. This detaches you from the situation so you can reset and start fresh.

The key is to minimize brain freeze by altering your perception and choosing to reframe with a few simple ideas.

The other key is not to do pulls-up over your water pressure gauge.