DO YOU HAVE AN AMYGDALA IN YOUR BRAIN?

Do you even know what an amygdala is? Probably not, but it pays a critical role in your everyday life. Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms?

• Does your heart race?
• Do you get red or flushed skin?
• Do your pupils become dilated?
• Do you tremble or have sweaty palms?
• Do you sometimes pee uncontrollably?

Sounds terrifying. Do you need to see a specialist? A neurologist, cardiologist, or urologist. Maybe you need a CAT scan of your brain or a spinal tap.

Well, the good news, is you don’t need to do any of these things or see any of these specialties.

Having an amygdala is perfectly normal, in fact, everyone has one. I bet you didn’t know you had an amygdala, what it is, or even wear it is. We don’t talk about this area, but it is essential to our conscience. Essential to you being you and your everyday life.

You see, the amygdala is a ridiculously small almond-shaped mass nestled deep in the temporal lobe of your brain. (That part of the brain behind the ears).

The amygdala drives your primal emotions, like fear, anger, and pleasure. When your amygdala wakes up, you instinctively dive into what is commonly known as the fight or flight syndrome. From here on, that little almond-shaped mass drives you into survival mode. It is all about survival, both mentally and physically

There are no lions, tigers, or bears waiting to attack most of us, but your amygdala thinks that the angry boss or road rage driver is the same as a charging lion or a herd of elephants.

YOUR MEMORY IS YOUR AMYGDALA

The amygdala provides us with emotional memories. You see, the amygdala pays close attention to threats that result in fear conditioning.

Think Pavlovs’ dog and that whole drooling thing. Guess what? When the emotion is high, the memory is stronger, and you retain that memory longer.

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Your amygdala overtly influences your behavior. The decisions you make today can be influenced by emotional memories from long ago. If your logical brain (no not like Mr. Spock), goes silent or retreats then all your further decisions are fear-based. You are no longer making logical or purposeful decisions.

Fear mode wants you to avoid those emotional memories. Instead of making conscious decisions to live the life you want or decisions that make you happy, you make decisions wrapped in fear. 

In a fear-based life, you push yourself through roadblocks with twists and turns all the time trying to survive in avoidance mode instead of achieving your goals and passions.

You make decisions to avoid pain, loneliness, and failure.

Your brain is programmed to push back on any conscious effort to bypass the fear response, it has that strong memory. It will take challenging work, but that fear-based programming can be reshaped.

Taylor Clark author of “Nerve under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress and The Brave New Science of Fear and Cool ” suggests practicing methods that help calm your fears and calm your mind.

Breathe. Consciously take slow, deep breaths into your abdomen to inform the parasympathetic nervous a day i system that things are ok. – I recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Cleary to learn how to make small incremental changes. Changing 1% at a time can be more successful than sweeping lifestyle changes.

Put your feelings into words. Labeling an emotion, by talking or writing helps the brain process and diffuse it. – Yeah, WRITE. Put your feelings to paper.

Train, Practice, and Prepare. Through repetition and experience, you can program yourself to perform and make better decisions under stress as the procedure becomes routine and automatic in the brain. –  Take away, Repetition prepares you to perform and make better decisions under stress. First responders and nurses practice this every day with real-life consequences. 

Redirect your focus. Instead of turning your attention inward, and growing preoccupied with worries, concentrate on the present moment and the task at hand. – Live in the now, not in the past.

Expose yourself to your fears. To hit the mute button on fear, you have to allow yourself to feel afraid and expose yourself to it. Clark writes, “Moving through a fear is the only way out of it.”

Learn to accept uncertainty and lack of control. By actually facing your fears of the future, accepting reality, and basking in your uncertainty, for instance, by repeating and exploring a distressing worry. –  In other words, use fear to your advantage.

Reframe the situation. When anxious biases appear about a situation, we can learn to consciously change our perspective by looking for the good, speculating possible positive outcomes, and not buying into the negative thoughts. – When anxiety rears its ugly head, examine the good. Some would say “if life gives you lemons make lemonade.”

Keep your eye on a higher principle. Dedication to a higher purpose, whether a spiritual belief, altruism, or personal goal, helps abate fear and keep us pointed in the right direction in the face of fear or hopelessness. –  Make this a dedication to higher belief or dedication to personal goals.

Open to fear – If you stop thinking it is a problem, it is no longer a problem.

So, take the time to learn some mindfulness skills, some meditation skills, and some relaxation skills. Your brain and body will thank you for it.

If I write, I am a writer