# Amygdala hijack



## ThoughtOnFire (Feb 10, 2015)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala_hijack


----------



## phillip norman12 (Oct 11, 2015)

From this article-

The danger is that "when our partner becomes, in effect, our enemy, we are in the grip of an 'amygdala hijack' in which our emotional memory, lodged in the limbic center of our brain, rules our reactions without the benefit of logic or reason...which causes our bodies to go into a 'fight or flight' response."[8

For "partner",substitute "parent". You'd grow up in a constant state of tension and low level anxiety,breathing rapid and shallow,inhibiting a healthy connection with your body

Ta for the link.


----------



## vanuti vetru (Sep 7, 2015)

Thanks for that link.


----------



## Surfingisfun001 (Sep 25, 2007)

I can see how this relates to what we experience 24/7 but in a positive way. Interesting 'opposite' analogy.

It's like imagine that spontaneous explosive laughter but the polar opposite - something that is horrific and 24/7.

*Positive hijacks*

Goleman points out that "'not all limbic hijackings are distressing. When a joke strikes someone as so uproarious that their laughter is almost explosive, that, too, is a limbic response. It is at work also in moments of intense joy."

He also cites the case of a man strolling by a canal when he saw a girl staring petrified at the water. "*efore he knew quite why, he had jumped into the water - in his coat and tie. Only once he was in the water did he realize that the girl was staring in shock at a toddler who had fallen in - whom he was able to rescue."*


----------

