I have long said that the women on our team are stronger than the men. I have found that in a disaster or a stressful incident situation, women tend to stay calm, more in control of their own emotions while the men tend to clench their fists and run first, thinking second.
While I am not sure how scientific my findings have been, it is interesting to find out that a team from Krakow, in Poland, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain activity when 40 volunteers of both sexes were shown various images.
In the study, the men showed activity in areas which dealt with what action they should take to avoid or confront danger but the study showed more activity in the emotional side of a woman’s brain.
The researchers, from Jagiellonian University Hospital in Krakow, carried out scans on 21 men and 19 women. Brain activity was monitored while the volunteers were shown images of objects and images from ordinary life designed to evoke different emotional states.
There are normally three different responses to a sudden shock like a disaster situation: flight, fight or freeze. While the study did not mention the “freeze” option, what it showed was interesting and perhaps backs up my theories a bit.
The images were displayed in two runs. For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the second run, only positive pictures were shown.
While viewing the negative images, women showed stronger and more extensive activity in the left thalamus. This is an area which relays sensory information to the pain and pleasure centres of the brain.
Men showed more activity in an area of the brain called the left insula, which plays a key role in controlling involuntary functions, including respiration, heart rate and digestion. In essence, activity in this area primes the body to either run from danger, or confront it head on - the so-called "fight or flight response".
Researcher Dr Andrzej Urbanik said: "This might signal that when confronted with dangerous situations, men are more likely than women to take action."
Here is where I wonder about my own theories. While this study may prove that men are more likely to charge into a situation and take action before a woman, is this really a positive? The study itself of course did not attempt to make a determination regarding negative or positive, but I will. Over the course of the last several years, from disaster recovery operations to the disasters themselves, the women we have had on our team have DEFINITELY responded from that thalamus first, but this gave them the edge overall. The process of recognizing first the horror or need or loss seemed to give them an edge in the long run. While I believe that the study was probably accurate, do not misunderstand me; I am not talking about women sitting on the road crying while men are grabbing ropes and shovels. This study referred to and focused on the way the BRAIN worked, not the way the BODY responded.
While Dr. Urbanik believes men are more likely to take action, I disagree. What I believe is that women take action with an added element.
It has been my finding through years of working with female firefighters, disaster responders, nurses, doctors and paramedics that women, while immediately more emotionally attached to the situation, are just as quick to respond physically. In other words, they have a shovel in their hand just as fast.
What I believe this study really proves is that women operate on a different level than men and this makes them a more conscientious responder.
I have seen a gentle power from women in disasters that is rarely found in a man, and while often a man’s brute force is useful, the heart-driven power of a woman lasts much longer in a drawn-out scenario.
This summer, with a team of half women and half men suddenly thrust in a high-pressure response situation, it was the men that folded first, one of them, with years of experience, folded mentally after 5 days while the women on the team continued on. I believe that this stimulated thalamus may be the reason why I have witnessed all I have seen through the years. Women FEEL the need and therefore tend to attach themselves to the end goal of salvation personally.
All in all, I have no basis for drawing my conclusions save experience, but the study was interesting and I believe bolsters my opinion that women make tremendous responders, and that when disaster strikes, it is good to have at least one Jane around to balance out the Tarzan.
