I see so many of our people totally stressed and so worried and unhappy even though many times they have every reason on the planet to be ecstatic and breaks my heart, when I see many young western people come to our house and I see them almost exploding with joy and happiness. I think I know the reason and I learnt about this during a company sponsored retreat in the mountains and the facilitator called it Amygdala Hijack. Our primal brain which is our fight and flight brain gets engaged when we feel threatened and if we are stressed then we feel like we are threatened and when the primal brain takes over the thinking brain shuts down and the primal brain summons the animal in us. For this reason when we educate children if we yell at them, pressure them, stress them then their thinking brain shuts down. The same thing happens in post traumatic stress and the primal brain forgets to shut down.
I guess it is in many of our upbringings where they always scared us, worried us, we worry about going to hell, not being a good son, brother, daughter etc and that damn fight flight animal brain just stays engaged and effs up our lives so please learn to relax, shut that reptilian brain off and allow yourself to be happy beyond imagination. Here is a great article, again learn to respond, and not react…you feel angry at someone, just breathe tell yourself it is the damn Amygdala, I am going to breathe, relax and let my logical brain respond.
Learning to control my animal brain has given me everything, getting angry at children and wife is an automatic response but then you tell yourself, hey if I stress wife n children I am going to destroy their lives, so I work day and night o see them happy and successful and why should I destroy them because I cant control my primal brain.
Thank you so much!!! Much needed post.