I have met quite a few people in my time who tend to freeze solid when in a crisis. Fortunately none of them were pilots. One friend froze onto the helm of a boat which was on a collision course with another. We just couldn't get him off before we hit the other boat. It sometimes happens to passengers in light aircraft and I have learned from others' experience that a quick poke in the eye will cure the problem.
I did wonder if the AF 447 pilot was similarly frozen onto the stick.
In my own case I have only had one opportunity to find out how I cope in a crisis when I tried to do a go around with the carb heat still on. As I rapidly approached a line of standing crops I was quite impressed by my calm attitude as I assessed the best action. I worked out that, if I stayed on the ground I would go a*rse over tip, if I tried to clear the crops I would probably stall into them, so I successfully nursed us through the very tops of the crops, just gathering a few strands in the tail wheel.