Learn to distract brain’s amygdala to attain control
Tiny part of brain regulates stress, for better or worse
Stress for Success
April 7, 2009

Stress isn’t completely about control, but it mostly is. The less influence you believe you have in any situation in which you want control, the more stressed you’ll be. It’s obvious in situations like losing your job or when you’re in a rush and someone’s driving slowly in front of you.

When anxious ask yourself how your control is being impeded and by what or whom. Your answer is what you’ll likely say is causing your stress. To reduce your tension you’ll probably assume that that person or situation must change. But, of course, that increases stress since the only thing that’s within your control is your own reaction.

Instead, ask, “What are my options?” Seek problem-solving solutions that are actually within your control. Often you’ll be successful through legitimate problem-solving like letting the radio distract you from aggravating traffic. Other times your attempts increase your stress; like screaming at the driver as if that gives you more control, or going into attack or denial mode when faced with losing something you value.

There are signs that indicate you want more control in a triggering situation: feeling dread, anger or fear (Mother Nature’s survival emotions), worry, complaining or blaming, etc., and thinking the emotional thoughts that accompany each. These activate your Stress Cycle, an automatic mind/body reaction to stress, which pushes your attempt to regain control.

To increase your chances of finding workable options it’s important to limit the role too- strong emotions can have in this process.

When stressed a tiny part of your brain, the amygdala, is engaged. It’s part of your subconscious limbic system involved in emotional processing, memory and imagination.

For survival reasons, your amygdala remembers, for instance, who has wronged you in the past and when that person’s back in your life your amygdala will be on high-alert for being aggrieved again. But can it over-react?

I just learned that imagination is part of the amygdala’s function (thanks Jack). When you’re stressed do you think yours could conger up unrealistic scenarios?

An example was after Hurricane Charlie and the threat of another hurricane sent some people’s over-active amygdalas into the stress stratosphere. Fear of another hurricane was absolutely normal and motivated us to take precautionary action. But an over-active fear response would likely inhibit one’s ability to prepare for and possibly even survive another storm.

The amygdala also regulates the fight/flight response, therefore, anger and fear (some scientists call it the fear center). In other words, it’s triggered when you think that you have insufficient control. It reacts strongly to emotionally charged events, positive or negative and puts you into automatic unconscious reaction mode.

When your amygdala is strongly engaged it makes it more difficult to access your prefrontal cortex where conscious problem-solving is largely directed. So, in situations where finding a solution is called for but you’re being overly emotional, it’s in your best interest to increase your prefrontal thinking. Distracting your amygdala can help and I’ll cover ideas on how to do this next week.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of InterAction Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com or call 239-693-8111 for information about her workshops on this and other topics or to invite her to speak to your organization.