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AMYGDALA HIJACK

Published Monday, July 10, 2006 by XY | E-mail this post

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The amygdala is the memory center of our brain. I could post a picture but I'm too tired to do it. This is what I learned in class today, that the amygdala is responsible for all our reactive behaviours or patterns or programs. It is the repository which contains all the memories we have. So when we have an (emotional) trigger, we REACT according to what the amygdala has stored. So there is no thinking involved. It's like an impulse. And that's what's called an amygdala hijack.

That's also probably what happened to the great Zizou in the last game of his career. While I flippantly told Jay that he went down in style, (ok, that's really like the girl in me who loves bad boys talking there, harhar), it was sad to see him "fall from grace", as many people worldwide now calls the headbutting incident. That's what an amygdala hijack does - it makes matters worsen or escalate. In what could have been a glorious exit for a great athlete revered by many, that single impulsive response is now a cause of shame and disappointment. I can only wish that he can live this down somehow. His greatness may have been tainted, but that doesn't make him a failure. It just makes him human.

So why am I talking about this? Well, this whole journey to the past is even making more sense now. The way I respond to crisis, how I deal with relationships (both personal and professional), even to my passive aggression towards unwelcome people/situations...

Case #1 - In an effort to help heal myself, I convinced myself that I have forgiven the person who emotionally abused me for several months. In fact, I have even forgotten all the details (and only remembered how bad it really all was when I was browing through my archives, after the Friday night tea party revelations). It has been years, after all. But a few days ago, that Ex made an appearance in YM, and casually told me that he missed me. That totally enraged me, and I just lashed at him. Amygdala hijack. (Needless to say, that totally ruined my day, or as Cofibean would say, messed with my aura)

So tonight, I learned that we are capable of controlling this hijack. Thanks to the prefrontal node (intellect), which enables us to process our feelings, before RESPONDING to the stimulus or trigger.

Reaction vs. Response.

Admittedly, this is a lot of hardwork. It is difficult to unlearn what you have accumulated in all 32 years of your life. But that is also why it's called a journey. We constantly learn and unlearn until we get it right.

Even lasting 10 years in this job is a result of an amydala hijack. Years of achievement has programmed me to fear failure. Which ironically, has detrimented me from obtaining the real success that only comes from doing what my heart really wants.

We stay in our comfort zones because we already know the formula for longevity or survival or even a certain amount of success.

But if we really want to be happy, it sometimes means letting go of the things we know for sure.





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