Just a warning that this episode contains graphic content and may not be suitable for

all listeners.

I didn't realize how badly I was hurt.

These are words my co-producer Zoe and I hear all the time when we ask people to tell

us their survival stories.

You might remember a climber Derek King from a few episodes ago.

Maybe naively didn't think of what is the worst case scenario here might I have for

example a brain bleed which I actually had and I didn't know that in too much later.

So I felt okay even though later hospital scans were revealed that you're actually really

fucked up.

There are physiological explanations for why we don't immediately recognize the extent

of our injuries like the surge of adrenaline that kicks your body into survival mode.

Your brain also begins to release endorphins which are natural pain killers.

To understand this dynamic better we called an expert.

My name is Dr. Alison Roy I'm a licensed clinical psychologist.

You might remember Alison from last season's episode when she and her husband Ian shared

their family's experience of being attacked by a rapid coyote.

And I've really spent my career focusing on the study and treatment of trauma and PTSD

which is post-traumatic stress disorder as well as just really understanding the body

and brain's response to stress and overwhelming the stressful events.

So when we experience something a life threatening or survival situation our brain does what

it knows to do best it goes into this survival mode it regresses down into the most basic

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