why does body go into shock from experiencing or witnessing traumatic event? Like end of captain phillips

408 viewsBiologyOther

I know the medical term shock isn’t accurate, but like the scene at end of captain phillips where he finally goes into “shock” or panic attack, what is happening exactly and why. It’s poor circulation but where is the blood? Is it all at vital organs only or something, or is heart just not pumping strong enough? If so, why? Isn’t it more detrimental to go into shock right now?

In: Biology

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

When the body is undergoing an extreme stress response, its flooded with adrenaline that allows you to temporarily achieve and accomplish tasks you wouldn’t be able to do, and keeps you focused on survival – aka the fight or flight response.

At the end of Captain Phillips, the stressful situation is over, his body has stopped pumping itself full of adrenaline and other hormones, and he’s essentially “crashing.” His body no longer has the ability to power through and focus on just survival and so the trauma, physical exertion, and mental strain come flooding back all at once, which can be extremely overwhelming.

You are viewing 1 out of 4 answers, click here to view all answers.