Triune Brain & the Amygdala Hijack (4:58 mins) Copy

Workbook Page 16

When our emotions are high, the logical brain gets hijacked and we may not be able to think logically in the heat of the moment.

• How do you deal with difficult thoughts and feelings when the going gets tough?
• Do you take an aggressive stance and fight back?
• Do you walk away feeling rejected or like a victim?
• Do you push away and suppress every feeling, hoping that if you ignore it, it will go away?

These are some unhealthy ways of doing it.

Remedy

Slow down, and practice patterns that do not escalate. It turns out that in about 10 seconds, the cortical brain can catch up and create a conscious, thoughtful response. For the Pause to work, the brain has to focus on cortical thinking. So, a few seconds of thought on something that excites you or moves away totally away from the domain of the stimulus that causes you to take this pause.