How does the brain work?

[CAJ1]

I witnessed a very bad road accident and was first on the scene. The guy was killed and his leg was snapped clean off I know I looked at it but I can't remember what it looked like (thank goodness). I'm the worst with blood too, I would pass out at the slightest bit of blood but that didn't happen either. I can't remember anything from the point I looked at his leg onwards.

Does the brain blank out things as a way of coping or is it like amnesia or what? Also when the accident happened it seemed like it was all in slow motion, how does this happen when you're actually seeing it and its over within seconds?

[bednobs]

if yu cant remember anything you probably did pass out

[cazzz1975]

your brain can blank out shocking events, its a self defence mechanism I believe

[CAJ1]

lol bednobs, I definitley didn't!

Thanks for your anwer cazzz. How does it do that though?

[stonekicker]

its a part of the fight or flight mechanism - the body will shut down enough of its senses/experiences for you to ignore the bad bits and deal with the stuff you have to. could also be partly due to shock afterwards - dealing with something like that is pretty traumatic and your brain will obviously try to ignore and forget things it would rather you didn't see. hope you are ok and make sure you get the support you need from people, too. i'm a nurse and see some pretty gross things, but i also seek support from time to time too as it can be hard to switch off or deal with things independently x

[CAJ1]

Thanks for your answer stonekicker. The post doesn't even go into the half of what I saw. Basically the guy was on a motorbike and drove accross the road sideways into oncoming traffic going about 60mph, came off his bike as it hit the car, he rolled and was then run over by the car. I felt guilty for ages because I felt so useless because I didn't know where to start and thought if I had acted quicker he might have been ok but I've come to the conclusion he was probably already dead. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days and I hate being behind bikes when driving. I never got any support, I just carried on and its slowly gone away. I was just wondering how the brain worked and why I can't remember bits. I couldn't do your job, you'd have to be mentally strong! x

[Xx-TaloU-xX]

itjust blanks outthe bits you dont wanna see
i was ran over a cuple of months ago and my brain decided it was a bad dream utill somebody grabbed my hand
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[lil123]

Hi there !!!
Thats awful to have witnessed that. With me I get flash backs like nightmares of some of the things that have happened to me that I couldn't even remember.
Maybe the brain does this to protect us? x

[sqad617]

Mine doesn't work most of the time.

Just a thought.....in periods of stress and strain and other emotional situations, the brain produces endomorphins which are naturally produced morphine -like chemicals which have the same properties as morphine.

Just made that up LOL LOL

[Flossy3]

Sqad617 - just out of interest, what was that all about? Why would you make up something like that on a post that was clearly serious and really quite sad?