What is the amygdala and what does it do? The amygdala is a small almond shaped mass of grey matter inside the cerebral hemisphere part of the brain which is involved in processing your emotions. This is the fight, flight, freeze centre. When it doesn’t work as it should, it can contribute to disruptive behaviour feelings and symptoms. The idea is to keep you safe.
The amygdala can be triggered by the emotions such as aggression, anger, fear, or stress. They can cause sudden irrational illogical reactions. There is an expression called “amygdala hijack. Which is where your emotions take over and your actions are governed by your emotions and your “knee jerk reaction” leaks out.
Deep breathing exercises can calm the reaction, 16 second shift such as 4 seconds in hold your breath for 4 seconds and out for 8 seconds will detox the hormones that are released when you are reacting and signals your bossy that you are safe.
Grounding techniques can assist as well 3-3-3- rule which is 3 things you can see, 3 things you can hear and touch 3 parts of your body. This act turns the focus away from the hijacked emotions and distracts from how you are feeling. You calm down naturally.
Does your amygdala need help, contact us, info@mindhealthconnect.ca.