slow processing when in danger

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A while ago I went to do my groceries in the evening at around 7:40pm which I prefer as in the evening it is dark at present and less people on the street and in the shops so I am less prone to get sensory overload.
That evening after entering the shop which is not very big, I estimate a 100m², the music was still playing and I was in the back of the shop 2 women passed me running to a door in the back while one was saying "there is an armed robbery taking place at the cash desk". Suddenly a third woman joined, they opened the door with a key and disappeared behind the door.
I still kept starring on the closed door, hearing the words echoing in my head.
Then finally I got it, that at that moment there was an armed robbery taking place in the shop so I went to hide behind a shelf watching the floor to see if there are shadows of people coming into my direction.
A while later I heard someone screaming to call the police so I assumed that the danger had passed and I went to the cashier to pay for my grocery, but the chashier was shaking so it took a while.
That's when I put my hand at her shoulder to give comfort.
Then I went home.

When I told people about it they said that I was much too slow to get myself out of danger, that I should have left with the other women behind the door.
That it took too much time to make sense of the situation and bad things could have happened.

How do you react when being in danger.
Are there ways to speed up the processing of a situation?

I've had similar things happen to me.

Sometimes, the true impact of something like danger doesn't hit me immediately. It might take a few minutes.

At least you understood how the cashier felt pretty quickly.

I tend to not react to danger or bad events very quickly myself. I think it takes me a moment or two to really process what's happening. However I can react very quickly to danger by reflex, such as if something is coming towards me and about to hit me.

Sometimes I think it's better to not initially feel fear or distress. It allows time to make rational decisions before reacting.

I don't think I've been in danger enough to correctly draw a correlation, but I have noticed I'm slow at reacting to other negative things. So maybe.

What an awful situation. I'm glad to hear that no-one was seriously hurt.

I do know just what you mean about the gravity of a situation taking too long to sink in. I am the same, even in situations not half as serious as that. I have to be incredibly careful not to let myself get so absorbed in my own thoughts that I step out in front of traffic sometimes - I thank my lucky stars that I've never been run down.

I think its a ""fight or Flight"" response. Dont feel bad, your response really was no different from any human being from any spectrum, people will often point out what you should have done afterwards but rarely have they been in the same situation in there lives.. I worked with coastguard for 13 years and often would see this happen with crew members that perceived themselves as strong individuals, when hit with a sudden load of stress, people freeze like a deer in headlights, its generally a normal human reaction because something is taking place that is totally out of the norm and a high level of stress, another thing i witness is people will walk in circles like headless chickens... Stress on any human being can have some strange and adverse effects, another example, we had a tsunami warning some years ago and had to evacuate the small town that was by the water, but some refused as they didnt want to lose income, and guess what! the rest decided to go down to the water and see what was happening! Yeah, try to work the psychology of that one out! people do odd and strange things under a sudden stress boost, and its just your bodies way of dealing with a moment that doesn't happen often if at all in your life... Its quite normal as far as the term normal goes, dont worry you did well! ...

When I'm in a dangerous situation I'm not aware of the actual processing, I just react. If I waited until my brain put two and two together I would more than likely get hurt.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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I guess I can have either a slow or fast one. The fast ones don't usually help me out much either though. For instance, I was in a roll over car accident and decided it'd be a good idea to get out of the car in between flips. I woke up in a ditch with a fractured rib as well as various other injuries. I wasn't even thinking and it took me years to realize that I had actually ran out of a flipping car and that it could have rolled over on me.
I think it's fight or flight whether it be a slow or fast reaction time because everyone just reacts differently to danger.

I remember as it was starting to flip though, I was the only one staring dead ahead and not screaming. At that moment, it was slow processing. Weird how it just switched rapidly to a hyper fight or flight mode.

I have no sense of danger. I react slowly in many cases.

In October, my mother-in-law, wife and stepson and I went to a hot springs resort. We were walking and the mother-in-law fell into a pool and went under. Before I could even process it, my stepson had already jumped in, hoisted her up and was keeping her above the water.

I can count at least 5 times I should have been dead by now.

Here's one from when I was 16.

I ws out with friends one night just driving on back roads. That's what we did in the olden days you youngsters.

Anyway, the guy driving had an old style station wagon. The roads were windy so we were going about 40. I crawled into the back, opened the window and crawled out onto the roof.

Jackass driving the car sped up to about 60 or so. Closed the window and wouldn't open it. I'm standing on the bumper and then crawl on top of the car and start pounding the window cussing him out. He and the other guy were laughing their asses off. He made me crawl back to the back bumper and then he opened the window.

Now, here's the kicker...I was pissed because he locked me out. Not because it was dangerous. We were not drunk. We were not high. I was just that sorta daredevil guy out for attention. As long as it did not take me above 5 feet off the ground.

Completely terrified of heights. Oddly though, not afraid to fly.

But, no sense of danger whatsoever and slow to react when necessary.

Thank you all for replying.

You're welcome.

Given that I normally process things at an abnormal rate, I get faster when a sudden situation occurs; saved me on the road more than a few times.

Though, processing everything that fast seems to drain me for awhile afterwards.

Many times my mind can be "out to lunch". One time a guy was backing up in his truck slowly, while I standing on a sidewalk, staring. His truck was getting pretty close to me...while I was deciding if to move out the way or not . He stopped, came out and apologized (asking if I was okay and that he didn't see me).