The amygdala hijack - keeping you triggered

“Amygdala hijack” is a term coined by psychologist Daniel Goleman in 1995 to describe, in a simplified way, why some people may easily be “triggered” and can thus have an overwhelming emotional response out of proportion to the stimulus. The amygdala is a part of the limbic system in the brain, and it plays an important role in regulating our emotions and behavioural responses, but it is also known to activate the fight and flight stress response in our nervous system when it perceives a threat.

In our normal day-to-day life, incoming stimuli comes into the brain through the thalamus, the brain’s relay station. This brain part sends the information to the amygdala, but it is also sent to the cortex, our rational brain, to provide context to the information. The cortex will communicate the context to the amygdala, letting it know whether a physical response is needed, should it have concluded that we may be in danger. The amygdala will then activate the stress response to release energy reserves, by increasing cortisol in the body, to allow us to either fight or flee.

The “amygdala hijack” is when the amygdala activates the stress response before waiting for the rational input from the cortex. The amygdala has this trip switch built into it for emergency cases where a threat may suddenly approach us, and we don’t have the time to wait for the cortex to analyse the situation. Unfortunately, people who have suffered unresolved trauma may have an amygdala that has learnt that the world is unsafe and follows the approach of being safe rather than sorry. It therefore uses this trip switch not only in cases of emergencies, but in any situation where it feels obliged to keep you safe, whether there was a threat or not.

Once the stress response is activated, our cortex becomes “deactivated” as blood flow is redirected to vital organs such as the heart, lungs and muscles. The result is that we react irrationally and emotionally, regretting this behaviour when our rational cortex gets back online after the stress response has subsided.

One of the most effective ways to prevent the amygdala from overriding rational thoughts is by practising self-awareness. One effective way to do this is when you feel triggered you take a moment to stop on try and name the emotion. Naming items is a function of the cortex and thus forces our higher brain to stay on-line allowing us to stay rational. Another effective way to mitigate the amygdala from hijacking the brain is by shifting our focus to our breathing. Consciously taking deep breaths ensures that our nervous system remains in a calm state and the fight and flight response can not be activated.