About-to-get-Hinky Radar and Time Distortion

Firearm Training
#1

Both my first ex (yes, there’s two of them) and my current husband have the ability to detect that a situation is about to go bad in their general environment prior to anything actually happening, sometimes several minutes before. I think of it as SHTF Radar. The radar really operates at a subliminal level… that is, they aren’t actively scanning for trouble, but just snap into that state from whatever else they might be doing… it’s not a conscious observation.

Both also experience time slowdowns when that radar kicks in, or when the bad things start to actually unfold.

I think they have this naturally as part of their survival wiring, but its been developed by the things they’ve been exposed to and their training. My hubby was special forces in Vietnam, and my first ex grew up in rough territory where fighting to defend yourself was a daily thing.

Wondering how many of you have SHTF Radar, and what you do/did to develop it?

Do you get time distortion and what did/do you do to develop that?

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#2

I do too. The more chaotic the situation the more time seems to slow down for me.

The former I think is a form of hyper vigalence? Do either of them have experiences in their past that might have produced some level of PTSD?

In the military you see a lot of guys who don’t demonstrate it early in their careers but develop it over time. I think it’s a trained subconscious survival instinct buried in many people’s brains that only surfaces after exposure to high stress life and death experiences.

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#3

Definitely both candidates for hypervigilance, but not classic PTSD in the sense of reexperiencing the fight and thinking you’re back in it.

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#4

I’d call it a hyperactive awareness. Not hyperactive in a bad way. Watching the environmental, people’s actions, listening for triggers. Like watching a deer in the woods. Eyes open, ears perked up, ready to run. Almost to the borderline of being anxious. I do it, and my wife is almost like my amplifier. She does it, the two of us together might almost sound paranoid if you could hear our conversation and thoughts.

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#5

I too think that military people, law enforcement, first responders, etc will develop that warning system that picks up a little bit earlier than some others due to being in level orange and high yellow all the time. My experience is things slow down, but I had two different partners that experienced the exact opposite and things sped up for them. In our encounters they always responded well due to their training. So, ultimately, I think it is the way someone is wired, but I’ve not studied the effect beyond limited LE training. A behaviorist, scientist, or doctored individual probably could answer that best.

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#6

Special forces in Vietnam says it all!

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#7

@Zee I’ve had all of that happen. I’ve also been in a few situations where I’ve “blacked out”. I’m not sure how to describe it other than that. I don’t remember what happened, but I reacted to things faster than I normally would be able to, including responding to conversation. But I have no perception of what actually happened. I think that was my brain taking a shortcut honestly.

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#8

I’ve had it since a very young age, mom has always told people I can see trouble happening from a mile away.

I always thought it came from being a police explorer and exposed to things most 16-year-olds aren’t, mom says I had it before then.

When I took some time years ago to analyze what is see I realized when I walk into a new environment or someone new enters my vision is much like a dogs sense of smell, it starts wide like a cone < and narrows down closer to me.

Sometimes I amaze myself with what I see happening when others around me don’t. I was out on a ride along with an officer friend, she was so focused on getting to her next call that she didn’t noticed the severely impaired driver that almost took us out twice.

The only time I’ve experienced tunnel vision was during simulator training, it happened both times I’ve taken the training. I was so focused on the subject and what was happening on screen that I lost focus on everything going on around me in the room.

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#9

I’ve called it “spidey sense”, I’ve had it since I was a kid. Hard to describe really, there’s a time shift which I’ve researched and it’s pretty common actually. I can’t remember all the technical garb. I have another annoying hair, my mom and others have fussed at me for showing up right beside them without a noise and slip away the same way as well.

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#10

I think of that as the brain diverting whatever energy would normally go to the “recorder” into handling the actual events.

#11

I think my husband has had this as long as he can remember. He says hes always been able to do this since he was a kid and that’s part of how he ended up in special Forces. My 1st ex started Fighting pretty much every day by the time he was 4 or 5. it’s kind of hard to tell if that was born in or developed.
Interesting to hear someone else who was born with it talk about it.

#12

That sneak up on People thing is interesting.
My 1st ex could do that. We figured it was because he was part Apache.
More likely it was from all the fighting.
My 2nd ex who does not have the danger radar or the time slow down, has a different trick. He can make himself vanish . Hes 6’ 4 and 225 fighting weight and he can simply become invisible.
My husband has both the radar and the time trick. Hes also Got a kind of jedi mind thing he does that makes people just agree to what he asks them to do. He also has a whammy he puts on wild animals that lets him just walk up to them.
It’s a pretty unusual skill set,and he’s had both since he was a kid.

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#13

@Spence

I have had that happen to me twice in extreme situations. The best way I can describe it is a fire curtain dropping instantly. Cant remember a thing and then all at once everything is back. The outcome of the incident both times was not good for those on the receiving end. Both times were when I was in my teens. After the second one (people went to the hospital) I made a very conscience effort at never letting it happen again by controlling my emotions and using my brain rather than let it develop into a physical situation where instinct would take over in what I figure is a flight/fight response.

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#14

@Zee

The feeling of precognition and/or daja vue happens to me way to often for me to ignore it. As far as slowing things down the first time that happened to me was when I was 17 and hit a deer while I was on a motorcycle. From the moment I knew there was no way to avoid it everything was moving like the 6 million dollar man and stayed that way until I made first contact with the ground. Its feels like extra time to prepare (physically and mentally) for what is about to happen.

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#15

Yeah I’ve had that experience too @DBrogue… a horse went over backwards on me and that trip, from the moment of tipover to the time he rolled off me took about a week.

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#16

Hypervigilence is a very common symptom. PTSD has a broad spectrum of symptoms, some good, some bad, and some horrible.

“Blashbacks” are at the extreme end.

I’m just wondering if either had in their background experiences that might trigger some level of it.

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#17

Hypervigilance is a state of increased alertness. If you’re in a state of hypervigilance, you’re extremely sensitive to your surroundings. It can make you feel like you’re alert to any hidden dangers, whether from other people or the environment. Often, though, these dangers are not real.

From the same link above.

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#18

That would be a very good example. Some people will freeze during those episodes and some will have the ability to seem to move and make decisions much faster than time is actually elapsing and certainly at an accelerated rate over the perceived length of time.

Some of the greatest hitters in baseball history claimed to be able to see the spin on the pitch and even see the laces on the ball. Many great fighter pilots have the same ability and claim it gave them a distinct advantage of the enemy.

Ted Williams was both and described it in great detail many times.

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#19

The eyes open, ears perked up, ready to run was a description of the deer. I was saying, the two of us both watch the surroundings. Neither one of us is real fond of crowds. We like to be out, away from a crowd. We’re not scared or paranoid. Just cautious when we must be in a situation that increases the variables.

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#20

Yep, jut throwing it your way. Always helps to have everyone working off the same terminology.

I’ve had similar experiences deer hunting. Once about 20 years ago I walked literally right into a beautiful 12pt with split G3’ that were forked and symmetrical. I can still see the ticks crawling in his ear and the fly that was biting into his left eye that finally broke the mutual trance…

I lunged at him and shouted “Boo!”, he jumped about eight feet straight up, spun a 180, made one hop to the fence, another over it into a wheatfield where he proomptly ran out about 300yds stopped, and gave me a perfect broadside.

He scored 147 7/8 with a total of only 1.75" deductions. Nicest deer I’d ever taken at the time.

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