Taming Your Inner Smoke Detector by Kelly Dorman
Have you ever been out for a walk, noticed something long and thin lurking in the bushes and suddenly found yourself walking faster? Such a response is due to your amygdala detecting the object as being a potential threat to your survival. Before you can stop and think if it is a stick or a snake, your fight or flight response has been activated due to communications between areas within your brain. Without conscious thought, your brain jumped into protection mode and sent you quickly on your way.
As humans, we are conditioned and have evolved to scan our environment for threats. So, what is going on within our brain to elicit the fight or flight response and what happens if it starts to dominate our day-to-day life? First, we need to talk about the limbic system, which is located within the temporal lobe, it serves as the headquarters for our emotions, memory, and behaviour, and influences how we respond to stressful situations, it is a very instinctual region of the brain. Within this system is the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure that helps regulate anxiety, aggression, emotional memory, and fear. When we are faced with a threat, the amygdala detects the potential danger and sends an alarm signal to our hypothalamus, which activates our sympathetic nervous system. I like to think of the amygdala as an “inner smoke detector”. The fight or flight response is initiated, cortisol and adrenaline levels surge, our heart rate increases sending excess oxygen to our body, and our pupils dilate to improve our vision. Essentially, our brain is gearing us up to either run away from or fight off the threat.
Secondly, we need to understand the role of the prefrontal cortex. This region controls our rational and logical thinking, its functions are quite different from those of the limbic system. For instance, the amygdala reacts instinctively and impulsively, whereas the prefrontal cortex responds in a more measured and rational manner. It is worth noting this area of the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty-five, hence those riskier choices made within the adolescent and young adulthood years.
Thinking back to the long, thin object in the bush, the amygdala would have triggered an instinctive response, making you walk faster or run without conscious thought. It may not be until you are further away from the threat that you consciously think “Oh, that was just a stick - not a snake”. Such a thought is the prefrontal cortex allowing you to think more rationally.
Someone whose behaviour is predominantly governed by their amygdala is likely to react more impulsively to certain situations and stimuli. However, if the amygdala becomes overactive and is constantly seeking out threats, we risk experiencing what psychologist Daniel Goleman described as “Amygdala Hijack.” This occurs when our emotional brain (the limbic system) overtakes the rational functions of the prefrontal cortex. An overactive amygdala can leave us feeling on edge, fearful, anxious, and hypervigilant. It can also lead to frequent physiological responses such as a racing heart, upset stomach, and a sense of restlessness. These permanent symptoms can impact our daily functioning, for example, your boss may provide you with feedback about your work, which you react to in anger, yelling at them and storming out of the room. Your emotions have taken over and inhibited you from taking a moment to register what was said, you have therefore reacted via your amygdala rather than responded via your prefrontal cortex.
It is important to note that our life experiences can govern what we deem as threatening and, in some instances, it is difficult for people to avoid instinctive reactions. An example of this is those diagnosed with PTSD as past experiences mean these individuals have potentially higher levels of amygdala functioning.
To calm the amygdala and enable our brain to respond rationally, activities such as breathing techniques, journaling, and muscle relaxation can be helpful. Additionally, meditation have been found to reduce amygdala reactivity. Seeking support and coping strategies from a registered psychologist is also highly recommended.
As humans, we will always come across threats within our environment, the key is being able to tame our amygdala. We want it to come online when we are challenged with ‘real’ danger such as a snake and quiet down when we are faced with an event or stimuli that is not threating our survival. This can enable a less stressful and anxious state of mind, allowing us to live a more relaxed and present life.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811918306256
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1219167110
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537102/