The Brain Almond

The Brain Almond
There’s a saying that "everything you want is on the other side of fear." What tells us to be scared? A little thing that lives in our brain, called the Amygdala.

Derived from the Greek amygdale (almond), this almond-shaped structure in our brain has four main functions:
  1. Threat Detection.
All sensory information, other than smell, reaches our amygdala before our occipital lobe (visual processing). This is why we move before we get hit something… our brain registers a threat before we get chance to think about it.
The amygdala is also why we “choke” in high-pressure environments. In technical terms, as coined by Daniel Goleman in ‘95, this is known as the amygdala hijack.
Our frontal lobe (logic + reasoning) is overwhelmed by the amygdala, and emotions take priority over logic. This is why we get nervous and stressed before we go into a big meeting even though there’s no physical danger present. Our amygdala tells your body it’s in danger and it responds accordingly.

  1. Trigger a body response. 
The amygdala is responsible for our fight, flight and freeze responses to danger. 
A lesser-known “f” in this sequence of reactions is the fawn response, which refers to certain people’s tendency to attempt to appease the danger in front of them: Like offering the bully your lunch money before they’ve even asked.
It’s the amygdala that sounds the alarm and calls the emergency services after perceiving a threat. By that we mean it connects with your hypothalamus (hormone control), this in turn increases heart rate, dilated pupils, tenses muscles, and releases adrenaline/cortisol to enhance your ability to manage the assumed problem.
  1. Fear Conditioning. 
The Amygdala coordinates with the hippocampus (memory) to understand danger and action based on previous associations. An example of this is Pavlov’s dog, where he trained an animal to salivate at the sound of a bell by repeatedly associating it with mealtimes. 
Harnessing this association can also be productive for humans – explaining the efficacy of gradual exposure therapy. By consistently introducing a stimulus linked with fear, and repeatedly illustrating there’s no danger involved, you can minimise your physiological reaction to things that make you scared.

  1. Positive Emotions
Recent research has demonstrated how the amygdala is involved in processing intense emotions in general, irrespective of their connotation (positivity/negativity). It doesn’t operate solely in the arena of fear. 

Under The Hood

It’s obvious to say that both fear and stress are massive inhibitors of performance.
Understanding our biological processes affords us the breathing room to contemplate our actions.

Whilst practice can prepare us ahead of stressful situations, we also need to immerse ourselves in stress itself to indicate to the non-thinking parts of ourselves that the shit isn’t hitting the fan when we fumble a task. 

The problem is that the more we advance as a society, the more technology can shield us from certain types of stress and fear. And without a healthy dose of it, we’re at risk of becoming too soft to deal with the inevitable risk that accompanies true performance.

Take this cue to throw yourself into that situation you’re avoiding.

Feel the fear. Do it anyway.

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