A Restored Mind with Cross and Crown
Industry Expert: Cross and Crown Counseling
By Kate Walpole, Cross & Crown Counseling
When you consider the wonder of the human brain, you may be delighted at the complexity of thought contained in matter and how an organ in the human body can operate like a computer with a command center of its own.
Your brain also acts much like a video camera that records events and stores not only what it sees and hears but also what it feels. Memories and emotions get stored together in the amygdala, which acts as a command center, assigning emotions like fear or anger to environmental stimuli and triggering the flight-or-fight response The amygdalae are communicators continuously perceiving, processing and relaying information between the prefrontal and temporal lobes and the hypothalamus.
If an event is positive, you will experience feelings of pleasure and contentment upon remembrance along with a sense of reward. If the event is traumatic, you may experience fear, terror or helplessness. The amygdalae tell your hypothalamus to communicate with your autonomic nervous system and begin the release of stress hormones that are responsible for the physiological changes associated with fright, panic, and anxiety, such as an adrenaline surge, sweating, rapid heart rate and rapid breathing. When these effects occur after an initial event, they are often referred to as PTSD symptoms.
When emotions associated with a traumatic event are triggered you will experience a rush of adrenaline and cortisol as your body signals a survival state by fight, flight, or freeze. When we enter the state of survival repeatedly our bodies become weakened and begin to break down physically.
Whether you’ve experienced an event that happened to you or witnessed an event that left you afraid or feeling helpless, know it’s possible to be freed of the strong negative emotions associated with the event. With the use of our conscious mind and visualization techniques, a dissociation from trauma emotions and memories can occur. When we understand how to use our minds intentionally to heal, we can regain control of our emotions and live with peace again.
