Whats a time you were terrified?
Once, I was camping alone, sleeping in a hammock in the middle of nowhere. I woke up and heard the sound of distinct sniffs right next to my head. If you've never slept in a camping hammock, you can really feel quite vulnerable - much like a tent, you can't see anything but you can hear very well everything going around you but unlike a tent, you're suspended in the air and you cant easily just push off the ground to get to your feet if you need to. It feels much more vulnerable, you feel like a suspended sausage link.
I woke from sleep in a state of alarm, but I didn't know why I was scared. I had the strong sense that I should be quiet and listen, so I did, even though my heart was pounding in my ears. I heard two distinct sniff sounds right next to the top of my head. I could feel the skin on my scalp crawl. I vividly imagined two images of what could be outside smelling my head - a bear, or some crazed lunatic who had been following me through the woods for two days. I started thrashing around and yelling while I grabbed the zipper. I unzipped and stuck my head out to hear the sound of something crashing away through the bush. It could have been a bear, could have been a deer. I calmed down pretty quickly and went back to sleep but it was probably the most scared I've ever been.
It was a surreal experience waking up like that. It's like the part of the brain that draws conclusions was offline in sleep, but the part of the brain that alerts to danger and fires up the adrenaline response was there, on duty and roused the rest of the brain. I got the message that I needed to wake up right now and be ready but no further information about why or what was happening. It was almost like my inner voice had whispered to me "wake up right now, and listen, somethings going on."
