Anxiety Breakdowns

July 7th, 2022

Fight or flight responses are produced in the amygdala part of the brain. Laughter and curiosity conquers flight or flight, because curiosity releases dopamine in the brain. So does laughter; aka emotions in the form of actions.

Curiosity fuels the reward system in the brain, and is like a desire more than a need sometimes. And the reward system isn't always money. Hence the desire part.

To every action there is a reaction right? And they say laughter is the best medicine.

New route, different topic... but lets discuss ADD style.

TIPS 101 to help with Anxiety.

The 3-3-3 rule:

Name 3 things you see, 3 sounds you hear, and move 3 parts of the body.

This makes sense with the research I've done because the amygdala produces fear and anger, signaling these emotions more quickly than the body can naturally respond to. Not responding fast enough: makes sense, in a way that youre so used to being in overdrive chronically, with not enough time to heal from the trauma it has chronically been through. However, short term stress is good for you in adequate increments, as it builds resilience, mental capacity, and delivers results quickly. But it's the long term stress that elevates cortisol levels and hurts brain cells. And mind you, chronic stress does not build resilience, if we do not have adequate time to heal, as the ratio is deemed to outweigh the healing time. So basically, the ratio of stress production is higher than the production of healing. So yes, it begins to deplete brain cell health. And what does that mean? Yeah, lack of cognition, brain fog, and etc diseases, mental disorders, etc.. the list can be longer… But we can sometimes underestimate an inadequate brain. Brain fog is so chronic in many of us these days, we've grown too accustomed to it. And even to the point we think its normal. til we start taking measures to heal, then see how bad it really has been the whole time.

Now mind you, it seems like we can at least obtain something from a large bout of chronic stress, if handled correctly. Lets say, 5 years of stress, and you finally release yourself of all the causes of that said stressor. It will take time to heal from that 5 years of stress, but does the resilience still remains? I mean, I think so, if healing is put in place? Mind you, some added measures besides just relaxing would need to be taken by your actions daily, if you want to increase the speed of healing. Exercising, meditation, good food and sleep, new hobby or pet, or affirmations to replace the bad ones your brain has been programmed to recite and/or believe.

Onto the limbic system; this regulates emotions, and is where memories are stored as well. This ties in with the happy/feel good hormones: dopamine, which ties in with learning, memory, and motor system function.

Then serotonin; which ties in with the learning ability, memory, sleep, appetite, and mood regulations.

These things seem to have quite a bit in common at first glance. Mind you, it makes sense why some people go through traumatic experiences for so long before they gather the strength to remove themselves from it. Mind you from a spiritual POV, it can take an act of God, cuz when you go back to the part of the ratio of healing compared to the production of chronic stressors produced in your dailies, then it would take a larger force of equal or larger magnitude to remove said stressor.

But lets entertain science too shall we? Depending on your perspective; Newton's 1st laws of motion comes to mind: ‘An object will not change its motions unless a force acts upon it; ...and the force must be of equal magnitude and of opposite direction’. So depending on your perspective, whether you say an act of God being the force, or science, in which anything can be a cause to the effect. An action, or even a phrase. Words hold power too.

They say just being kind to someone can make a big impact. Can cause a big rough ripple effect in someone's life, that very day they become motivated to do something different and hopefully more productive with themself. And that something different can easily cause a massive chain of events. Ripple effect I call it. Hell, even just a smile.

An affirmation, even if you force it out of yourself, because no matter your mode , if it took a lot of guts and swallowing of pride to force that affirmation out, odds are its been awhile since you said something that powerful. and considering it being a new one, can be a good start to a ripple effect. Cuz that, in itself with said chronic stressor of life, is clearly quite the mental task.

Now who's to say after removing yourself from the situation, you develop what some would call PTSD. In some people, might be depression; in others you can call it anger issues and associate it with the rewarding system, or maybe even curiosity; 'Epistemic Curiosity' they call it... just to dig deeper. This sub version of curiousity is related to the 'thrill- seeking' release of rewards.

Now let's look at the sympathetic nervous system. Yeah it's an ironic term for a part of the nervous system ain't it. Not many talk about this part. In lamens, it directs your body to a rapid response to involuntary dangerous or stressful situations that, in this case, seem all too familiar. It causes a flash of hormone production in the body, alerting the heart rate, and sending extra blood to the muscles. And going back to the amygdala part of the brain being involved here, producing fear or anger, mixed in with a quick blood flow to the muscles, can cause your body to react, and not always in a way you agree with. Looking back at the situation after your heart rate has slowed down, that your response was not normal, or just illogical. And the cause may or may not make sense if you don't know how to put the pieces together properly. Hence not being able to learn from the mistakes.

And side note, keep in mind the part where it says 'quick blood flow to the muscles'. If we do not keep up with the healing process of this , and it remains constant, then it appears it would cause high blood pressure aka low blood circulation over time. (I'm not an authorized doctor here on a side note, just doing my own reseach). And many have heard them say too much stress has a negative effect physically on the body.

And we wonder why some people stay in stressful situations or relationships for so long. Or even growing up, as some didnt have a spoonfed household to provide the proper opinion of love in.

So in closing thoughts, I guess we must slow down, show empathy and compassion next time we see someone down. Dont judge. cuz maybe they didnt have parents growing up that gave them the proper oxtycoin release: hugs and kisses in lamens. Because scientifically, we require that growing up for a healthy relationship with our parents. Physical touch is what bonds a parent to their child. It is necessary for building trust, empathy and that inner bonding feeling. That deep connection.

Maybe next time we see someone in a complex relationship, or a DV situation, we provde assitance instead of judgement. Even just words, affirmations and advice can go a long way. Their brain needs the boost, and much more than that, healing. So lets be patient with each other. Even with ourselves.