Here's a section for our Glossary that hopefully will prompt some discussion. And if you have any suggested changes to the draft please add that in as well.
AMYGDALA HIGHJACKINGDefinition: The Amygdala is a small region of the brain which plays a key role in emotional regulation, emotional memory and responses to emotional stimuli. An “amygdala hijacking” is a term first used by Daniel Goleman to describe immediate and intense emotional reactions which are out of proportion to the triggering event, and which take over the cognitive areas of the brain; feelings are ramped up while thinking is slowed.
Description: The amygdala is the instinctive and reactive part of our brain that produces lightning-fast emotional responses to events which may be positive (i.e., events that cause us to feel a surge of delight, joy or excitement), or negative (i.e., events that cause instant fear, anger or rage).
This ability to react quickly and instinctively to negative events plays a critical function in our survival, but in the case of CPTSD the amgydala becomes over-reactive and hyper sensitive due to ongoing trauma. Thus, when someone with CPTSD perceive danger or threat, their amgydala triggers more quickly and intensely than other people, especially when faced with the possibility of a trauma inducing situation similar to what occurred in the past (e.g., childhood abuse and neglect). Once the amgydala triggers, it often produces an emotional flashback in which the feelings from past trauma are layered on top of the feelings elicited by the present day situation, and causes a defensive reaction (i.e., fight, flight, freeze or fawn).
What an Amygdala Hijacking feels like: "Amygdala hijackings" override our ability to think and reason for certain periods of time depending on the intensity of our reaction, and often strand us in what Pete Walker describes in his book “CPTSD: From Surviving to Thriving” (2013) as overwhelming feeling states or emotional flashbacks:
"You feel little, fragile and helpless. Everything feels too hard. Life is too scary. Being seen feels excruciatingly vulnerable. Your battery seems to be dead. In the worst flashbacks an apocalypse feels like it will imminently be upon you. When you are trapped in a flashback, you are reliving the worst emotional times of your childhood" (p. 145).
Additionally you may feel quite shaky, highly anxious and frightened and have difficulty thinking clearly. You may feel the need to hide or isolate yourself, and to numb or distract yourself.
What NOT to Do- Don't try and stuff the feelings down, this is likely to increase their intensity
- Don't self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, this only provides short term relief and may lead to addiction
- Don't try and go it alone, isolate or hide from others
- Don't think this will go on forever, it will subside
What TO Do- Use Pete Walker's “13 Steps for Managing Emotional Flashbacks” to alleviate your symptoms. See http://www.pete-walker.com/flashbackManagement.htm
- Reach out to others including your physician and/or therapist and let them know what is going on and ways they can help
- Drink fluids and rest; the amygdala kicks out a lot of chemicals such as adrenalin and these stay in your system for a few days
- Try to identify what triggers you and avoid these if possible
- Work through past trauma with a therapist and on your own so that there is less fuel to trigger the amgydala
- Use cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to engage thinking and balance off feelings
- Practise healthy self-soothing or calming techniques such as mindfulness, meditation or yoga
Resources:• “13 Steps for Managing Emotional Flashbacks” by Pete Walker. Available:
http://www.pete-walker.com/flashbackManagement.htm• “What Was I Thinking? Handling the Hijack” by Dr. R. Nadler (2009). In particular see the section “The Emotional Audit” pages 5–6. Available:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/51483/handling-the-hijack.pdf