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Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical Psychologist)
During a hunting trip, a man was violently attacked by a brown bear. It was his 12-year-old son who saved his life. How can we explain such composure? Our expert answers us.
In western Wisconsin (United States), a 12-year-old boy showed immense courage. While his father was trapped in the clutches of a brown bear, he grabbed a hunting rifle and killed the animal. An exceptional composure, which leaves one speechless. Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, tells us more about this mechanism.
“The bear was fighting for his life, and I was fighting for mine.”
The tragedy occurred in the heart of a forest in Wisconsin, United States.
While a father and his son were in the middle of a hunting trip (for bears), one of them jumped out of the bushes to attack the 48-year-old truck driver.
“He was in a cat-like pose ready to pounce. And then, all of a sudden, he was on me. He charged and knocked me down.“, Ryan Beierman tells the media The Minnesota Star Tribune.
The bear had been previously injured during the day by the father, who had failed to kill it. Annoyed and in pain, the animal had therefore ended up charging.
“The bear was fighting for his life, and I was fighting for mine.“, Owen’s father said.
Ultimately, it was the boy’s courage – seeing his father in the clutches of the brown bear – that saved the driver. The young man grabbed his rifle and fired a fatal bullet into the animal, which collapsed on top of its victim.
Today, if the hunter turns out to be safe and sound – despite his 23 stitches in his face and numerous wounds on his body – he considers himself lucky.
“Owen acted like a hero. He shot that bear right above me.” he cries.
Feeling good in your body, feeling good in your head!
Faced with a brown bear attack, very few individuals would be able to show as much composure as the little boy.
“Cand child was able to act with extraordinary clarity and determination,” confirms Amélie Boukhobza.But composure is not an innate gift. It is built, nourished by experience, education and the family model. In this story, the child may have been raised in an environment where autonomy, quick decision-making and a sense of responsibility are values that have been transmitted on a daily basis. Of course, a child who observes parents reacting calmly in moments of tension integrates this attitude, almost instinctively,” emphasizes the psychologist.
Composure is also a question of connection with your body.
“In a situation of danger, our whole being goes into a state of alert”, continues the expert. “It’s stress that makes this possible, fight or flight: the heart races, thoughts get confused… What distinguishes those who stay calm is their ability to channel this rush of adrenaline and use this energy to act strategically. Without becoming totally overwhelmed or paralyzed!” she specifies.
However, to develop this ability to remain calm, lucid, and effective in such an extreme situation, work on oneself is necessary.
“We must expose ourselves, little by little, to situations that test our limits. Each time we manage to face stress, we strengthen this capacity. It is a form of psychological training: facing our fears rather than running away from them, accepting discomfort rather than going around it. This child, in a critical moment, has probably already been confronted with smaller challenges that have forged his fighting spirit and his ability not to give in to panic. Otherwise I don’t see how it is possible!” assures the expert.Of course, there is a part of instinct, but still. This survival instinct that awakens in us when faced with the ultimate threat. The child, in saving his father, probably reacted without even thinking, driven by a survival instinct as powerful as it was immediate. This instinct, combined in my opinion with a form of education and experience, allowed him to act where others might have been paralyzed,” she concludes.