Rose-
First, let me congratulate you on one of the better opening sentences that I have seen.

If I undertand correctly, you functioned in the acute crisis and only froze once things stabilized and help was at hand.

This is called "paradoxical kinesia" and appears to be good old adrenaline/epinephrine kicking in the afterburners on the stress circuits. Once the tiger was vanquished, you were able to collapse or, in our case, freeze.

This is also a case where our tendency to stay calm and keep our wits about us could be a detriment. I guess the lesson is that, when conditions warrant, we're better off just letting ourselves "lose it".

Not a lot on Medline about it (just ten hits), but here is an interesting one:


1: J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1976 Jun;90(6):536-46.

Activation-induced restoration of sensorimotor functions in rats with
dopamine-depleting brain lesions.

Marshall JF, Levitan D, Stricker EM.

Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the lateral hypothalamus or intraventricular
6-hydroxydopamine injections produced substantial depletions of striatal dopamine
in rates. All animals with brain damage showed marked sensorimotor impairments.
However, they began to move and respond appropriately to environmental stimuli
when placed in a sink of water, in a shallow ice bath, or among a colony of cats
or rats. A reversal of the sensorimotor dysfunctions was still apparent shortly
after the animals were removed from each activating situation. However, the
terapeutic effects dissipated rapidly, and by 4 hr after an exposure the rats
responded as poorly as they had prior to activation. These findings are
strikingly similar to the "paradoxical kinesia" seen in parkinsonism, a clinical
disorder attributed to degeneration of central dopamine-containing neurons.
Collectively, they suggest the importance of activation in maintaining
responsiveness to senory stimuli in rats following dopamine-depleting brain
lesions.


PMID: 8470 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]