Slow reaction times can be a killer. If you aren’t able to respond to danger and threats instantly, then you could be hurt. Mental acuity is the measure of how quickly a person responds to things. If your mental acuity is slow, then it’s time to improve that.
There are some effective training exercises that you can perform that will help to improve your response time. However, rather than delving into what these exercises are, this post will instead tell you about the kinds of situations that could warrant fast reactions. Here are seven of them:
Vehicular Accidents
If you use a car regularly, then there is always a risk that you could find yourself involved in an accident of some kind. Car accidents are extremely common. One of the most serious types of accidents would be truck accidents. Negligence and not paying attention are the leading causes of truck accidents and are usually caused by other drivers. If you see a car drifting too close to a truck (or even to your car), then react quickly and move away. Fast reactions and getting away from dangerous drivers could save your life.
Trips, Slips, and Falls
If you witness a person tripping, slipping, or falling over then you need to react quickly. Most people don’t have lightning reactions, so it’s unlikely that you will be able to catch them or prevent the person from falling, but you can still act quickly, call for help, and help them back to their feet. If the person is seriously injured, then you should phone an ambulance and make sure that their airways aren’t restricted. Intervening when a person falls over could actually save their life, depending on how quickly you act.
Physical Assaults
If you see a person being assaulted, then it’s essential that you act quickly. Physical assaults can turn violent if they aren’t stopped. Sometimes people who assault others do not actually intend on killing their victims, but get so carried away, and go too far. It can be hard knowing what to do during a physical assault, especially if you aren’t a physically capable or confident person. Generally speaking, it’s best to call for the police, and then if you feel confident doing so, step in and try to break up the assault. Remember, however, this could result in you becoming injured or even the target of the attack.
Witnessing Accidents
Any other accidents that you witness, you need to intervene in. If you are walking by the road and see that a car accident has taken place, then you should rush over and try to help the people involved. The quicker that you respond after an accident, the more likely that the people involved will survive and walk away without life-changing injuries. After especially severe accidents, it’s best to just wait for an ambulance, make sure the people involved are still breathing, but avoid pulling them out of their cars unless the vehicles are on fire.
Verbal Attacks
You don’t only need to respond quickly after physical assaults, you also need to get involved and step in if you see a person being verbally assaulted. Verbal assaults can be just as traumatizing for the people subject to them as physical assaults can. Unfortunately, verbal assaults are becoming more and more common in public as the United States becomes more politically charged. Intervening in a verbal assault could prevent it from turning violent and stop the victim from feeling scared and alone, and help them to get away.
Discrimination and Hate
If you ever witness discrimination or a hate crime, then as with everything else listed in this post, you need to respond quickly and intervene. Hate crimes are absolutely intolerable in today’s society—you must never stand by and allow them to take place unchecked. As with verbal assaults (because more often than not hate crimes are verbal assaults), you need to be aware that your intervention could result in the incident turning violent. The attacker could direct their rage at you and even try to physically prevent you from protecting the victim.
Physical Health Issues
Lastly, if you have any physical health problems, then you need to act quickly. A lot of people notice health problems but don’t go to their doctor, mainly because they are concerned it could be something serious and want to just leave it alone. This is never a good attitude to adopt. If you have any physical health concerns, go and get them checked out by a professional as quickly as possible.
In any of the situations listed above, acting fast is crucial. It can be difficult to actually act fast in these situations however because often panic takes over and we are left unsure of what to do. In order to ensure that you make the right decision every time, take time to collect yourself, take a deep breath, and get your bearings. Doing this will make it easier for you to act quickly.
