In this week's episode, we're diving into a different dimension of anxiety, one that might leave you wondering, "Why is this happening?" So far, we've talked extensively about the anxiety that originates in our thoughts, but there's a whole other side to it that's just as important – Amygdala-Based Anxiety.
But what exactly is the amygdala, and why is it crucial to understand this aspect of anxiety? Well, the amygdala is a tiny, almond-shaped structure in your brain, and it plays a pivotal role in your body's alarm system. You might recall us discussing the alarm system in previous episodes, and that's because it's essential for our survival.
The amygdala's job is to detect danger and alert our body, triggering the fight-or-flight response. It's like a smoke detector in your brain, and sometimes, just like a smoke detector malfunctioning, the amygdala can get a little confused about what's truly a threat.
But here's the kicker: sometimes anxiety starts with the amygdala, without any obvious trigger or anxious thoughts. It can be tricky to pinpoint why you're feeling anxious in these situations, which might make you feel like you're going crazy. The reality is, you're not – your brain is doing its job, just a bit too well.
Your amygdala creates anxiety responses based on past memories, even if you don't consciously remember those experiences. It associates certain stimuli, like scents, sounds, or sights, with positive or negative events, leading to anxiety or panic responses when encountering them again.
For example, if you associate a specific scent with a cherished memory, encountering that scent can make you feel warm and fuzzy. But if that scent is tied to a traumatic event, it can send you into a panic.
The amygdala can also create anxiety based on traumatic experiences from early childhood, often before we have conscious memories. So, if you ever find yourself reacting strongly to a situation without any apparent reason, it might be your amygdala-based anxiety kicking in.
We've also discussed how stress during pregnancy can affect a baby's brain development. If a pregnant mother experiences stress or trauma, it can influence her baby's brain development, leading to lifelong anxiety responses.
Understanding the role of the amygdala in anxiety can be incredibly empowering. It's not about being crazy; it's about your brain doing its job a little too well. In upcoming episodes, we'll explore strategies to manage and mitigate amygdala-based anxiety, so stay tuned!
Remember, knowledge is power. By understanding the source of your anxiety, you can better navigate the path to healing and peace. And if you want to delve deeper or need personalized guidance, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm here to support you on your journey.
Talk to you soon!
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[00:00:00] Thank you for joining me for episode number 167. Today, we are going to talk about another kind of anxiety. So, so much on my podcast. I've talked about. What. Like the cortex, the cerebral cortex kind of anxiety, where we have anxious thoughts. And I've had a lot of episodes about that. And a lot of episodes. About about how to deal with your thoughts and how to, to reframe your thoughts. And I think my Halloween episode was are you being haunted by your thoughts? Like so much of everything that goes on with us is our thoughts and we can look at them and we can analyze it and try to be curious about what's going on.
And that definitely causes anxiety. And I would say. The kind of anxiety that I experience is that kind of anxiety. So. I wanted to talk to you about a [00:01:00] different kind that. Is just, well, yes, just as important. And it's not that. The kind that we're going to talk about today doesn't happen for some people. And it does it, it actually is part of the anxiety response at every one. Has because it's part of the chemical part, the brain. Reaction part of anxiety. But. Sometimes people's anxiety originates in one way or the other. So like, like I was saying, mine is thought. Provoked, like I think about stuff. And then that's what causes me to be anxious. Where some people like my daughter, the story that I told last week and a few didn't. Listen to my rebranding. Why am revamped branding and why? It all makes sense. Episode. Number 1 66. She should go back and listen to that. But. Her anxiety is produced more in her brain, kind of almost without her. [00:02:00] Knowledge or without her being able to. Think about it as much now. Not that she doesn't have anxious thoughts that cause anxiety. Of course she does. I think everyone has that to some extent, but some people have this brain chemistry part that's happening. That kind of creates even more of a response and probably most people who have anxiety disorders, panic disorders, panic attacks, it's probably coming from the brain instead of the thoughts. At least at first. So.
Today, I'm going to be talking to you about the amygdala. Now the amygdala. And I was having a hard time saying that, but I've been practicing a lot and I don't know why
I don't know why I was having trouble with that name. Cause it's. There's nothing in it. That's tricky, but I don't know. Maybe I was trying to make it be a different word, but anyway, the amygdala is in the brain and it's just a tiny almond shaped [00:03:00] structure. And it is part of the body's alarm system. And we've talked about the alarm system before, because in part of some of the anxiety episodes from before we talked about how to quiet the alarm system, we can't turn it off. Remember it's part of us staying alive. And again, the amygdala is just going to work in our brain the way it was created to work, which is to alert our body, that something is wrong. And that we need to do something or we need to hide, or we need to, you know, do something for our survival.
And sometimes our anxiety starts there. And we can't really pinpoint why. We're feeling anxious or we can't find any thoughts that are associated or any situation really at that time, that's a situates. That is part of that response. So So when you're a McDilla perceives danger. Whether it's from our thoughts that we've kind of worked ourselves up in, or it just perceives it and words [00:04:00] going along with our day, like nothing. It creates this fight or flight response, which then dumps a bunch of chemicals in our body. And a lot of responses start happening, like heavy breathing or shallow breathing or increased, increased heart rate because all these different chemicals are being dumped in our body so that we can survive.
And you can also think about the alert system is kind of like a smoke detector and sometimes. Our smoke detectors and our houses go off and we're like, wait a minute. Why is that going off? Because there's something, you know, wrong with it. Or the batteries are going low or whatever. So you can think about.
The amygdala sometimes gets mixed up about what should be causing that response.
Now our brains are being formed and shaped before we're even born. So there is even studies where. Mom's had experienced a lot of [00:05:00] stress. So if the mom is experiencing stress and the amygdala is going off, that alert system's going off and all these chemicals are flooding into her body. They're also flooding into the baby's body, even before it's born. And if that mother, as a pregnant mother, Was experiencing abuse. Or. Just like a lot of trauma things going on, then the baby is going to have, the brain is already starting to learn trauma responses or. Things to trauma that it doesn't even understand that it won't even remember. And even as after they're born as babies or toddlers, Things that go on in their lives that they'll never remember are affecting their brain chemistry and the way that their brain. Reacts to things. And so. This kind of anxiety is called a McDilla. Amygdala based memories. So the amygdala remembers [00:06:00] things that happened. Or remembers or associates response with certain stimuli. And then when it thinks that that is going on, it will create this anxiety response inside of someone, even though. They're just going on about their business. One of the examples was. You know, if you're driving along and all of a sudden something jumps out in front of your car, you know, you slam on the brakes. You didn't think, oh, I'm gonna, you know, I'm going to slam on the brakes because something has happened. You don't even think you're just like slamming on the brakes and you feel that rush of adrenaline and all the stuff going on in your body. And like, sometimes it takes a while to like, whoa, I gotta take a deep breath. I've got to calm down from that. Or maybe somebody jumps out from behind a door or I know this has happened to me so many times. Like you go into a dark room and when you first turn on the light, you might be startled by something because it looks like a person or it looks like. An [00:07:00] animal's there, you know, I've had that startle response. So often when I go on my garage, when it's dark and I turn on the light and something might be laying there and I'm like, oh my gosh, does that possum or I don't know, whatever. Those kinds of things. And I'm also freaked out about spiders. So if I just see like black foes on the. On the floor, I might be like, oh my gosh, a spider. And then I'm like, oh no, that's just a piece of fuzz. And that all that kind of stuff happens. So split second, we're not thinking about any of it. And so. Our brains, start to connect things. In AR. Our brain starts to connect things. That. Maybe shouldn't be associated. Like it looked at thinks about smells and sights and things that hears. And then if something. Negative or positive happens with those associated with those, then it creates those responses for us later on. Think about. I don't, I don't think my mom had a signature [00:08:00] scent or my grandma. I didn't have a lot of time with my grandma, but like some people associate like a certain perfume with. Their grandma. Or their mom. And so even when that person's not around, if you smell that scent, you're like, oh, that smells like my mom. And if you have positive. If you've had a positive relationship with your mom or grandma, then you feel good. And you're like, oh, that, you know, I remember. My mom or my grandma, but if somebody was abusive to you and they were a certain scent, and then you smelled that scent some other time, your body might automatically react in a, in a panicked way or in, or at least some kind of anxiety or some like. Confusion. And again, it might've been something from as a baby or toddler that you don't even remember why that's a connection. Or it could be something that you do know what the connection is, and you just maybe forget about it or you don't realize it because your brain. [00:09:00] Smells that smell or hears that sound. Or sees some certain thing. That it already associated with positive or negative. The same thing can happen. Like if, if a child gets bit by a dog, It may then associate all dogs as being dangerous. And it's good that our brain does this because that's, again, how we stay alive. But all dogs are not dangerous and maybe the family wants a dog or maybe one of the grandparents has a dog, and then you have to figure out how do we help this child who has this. Fear panic response to dogs. And again, that could be more into the therapy realm. Because some of this amygdala based memory stuff, I mean, we will definitely be working on this, on the podcast and there, there are things that you can do. Just from listening to what I tell you, or just some tips I'm going to give in social media.
But a lot of times, [00:10:00] This type of anxiety requires a diagnosis or medication or therapy to walk you through different things. Like if you If it, like with this dog, Situation. If a dog bit a child, and then they're terrified of dogs always and have a lot of fear responses about dogs. Then, you know, maybe they are going to need to walk through a lot of things that are kind of intensive. To get them to get over that fear of dogs. And. The things that we talk about here would be helpful to them to add on to that they would probably also need. Therapy or other things and medication, things like that.
To help them.
There are also chemicals in our brains that help regulate our moods and emotions. And some people have too much or too little of those chemicals. And there are medications for that as well. Now there's different. There's [00:11:00] two different types of medications. And I don't know how much I want to get into that, but I will say.
That I wrote some of these down because I didn't know the difference. There are medications like Xanax Adavan and Klonopin. That actually sedate somewhat the amygdala because a person's amygdala might be so over-sensitive or so, or causing so much panic or so much anxiety. That a person needs to take those kinds of medications that kind of like soften it or cushion it or. Sedate it to where it doesn't work so much or it doesn't get overstimulated by things. But there's also medications and these are the kind that my daughter take. And I am not a doctor. And you would probably have to look up these more, but they have to do with. The other chemicals that might not be working as much like the The transmitter chemicals [00:12:00] that in our brain, when we have different synapses and things going on, there's chemicals that help. Release or help the message get to all the right places. And sometimes those chemicals are not working correctly. And so there are. Medications, a whole different set of medications that you can take that help that part. And I may get into that. I haven't decided how deep in the weeds I want to get into all that because I'm not a doctor and I couldn't possibly. Learn enough about it to really tell you good things. But I just wanted you to know that there is a difference kind of in the type of medication you could take. And that one type of the type of medication that sedates your amygdala. It's harder for you to learn. New ways of dealing with things, because since it's a Magdalen, some of it's a McDilla based. If you're sedating it, but then trying to learn new things to help it. It's not getting the message as clearly. If you're taking some of the other types of medicines, [00:13:00] it can help you take in that information a little bit better. So hopefully that's not too technical, cause I don't want to be. Technical on this. I want it to be understandable. I want it to be something that you can, you can use.
So the reason that that type of anxiety is so hard to understand is because it just happens and you're like, wait a minute, why am I having this panic attack? Or why. Why am I feeling so anxious about the situation and it's because it's maybe. Past your memories. Like it might be a time when you don't even remember, but your brain remembers it. So just. Kind of helpful for you because I think sometimes people feel like they're going crazy. And this doesn't have anything to do with being crazy. It actually means your brain is working really well. We just want it to maybe not work so well in some of those situations. So I wanted to read some statements to you because. These statements have to do with the amygdala based memories. And I wanted you to kind of have an idea of what [00:14:00] is that about. I noticed my heart pounding strongly or my heart rate increasing in certain situations. I avoid certain experiences, situations or locations without consciously intending to do so. I keep watching or checking on certain things, even when I don't really need to. I can't relax or let my guard down in a specific location or type of location. Seemingly insignificant events can make me worry. I can end up in a complete panic very quickly. And certain situations, I feel very angry to the point of wanting to physically fight. But I know that it doesn't make sense. I feel a strong urge to escape from certain Situations I felt overwhelmed and can't think clearly in certain settings Under certain circumstances I feel paralyzed and can't get myself to do anything In stressful [00:15:00] situations i can't breathe at a normal rate I develop a lot of muscle tension in certain situations So when i read those i i can't really pinpoint too many Situations for me where i would say that now I definitely feel like i can't think through things sometimes i get upset about stuff that is all regular human behavior But To actually like every time i get in a car In the passenger seat i feel you know i don't get any of that kind of stuff or every time i walk into school i don't feel a certain way So i just want you to think about You know where my ear anxiety becoming from that's really what i want you to get out of this episode because like i said i've talked so much about the thought kind where you're your anxious thoughts are getting away from you and causing all of these things Cause that's what i'm more [00:16:00] familiar with and that's something that i can pinpoint i can ask somebody Well, what. what. were you thinking during that time and a lot of times people can come up with those thoughts or where do those thoughts come from well let's look at what your beliefs are, whatever But this that's coming out of your brain and you're like i don't know why this is happening it's it's harder to work on but good news we're going to find ways to deal with it even through this podcast and even on my social media because there are things to do But i do want you to know that if you have these amygdala based memories And your panic attacks and your anxiety seem to be coming out of nowhere and you really can't pinpoint what and that is going on I think it's really important for you too. If you really want to start with your Your general practitioner doctor your pediatrician whatever you can start there But that shouldn't be the end of it they sh just taking a medication to feel better should not be the end of what you do with anxiety Because you also need to be learning Different thought [00:17:00] processes and different other techniques that you can do to help both kinds of anxiety and just taking a medication and then going on with your life is not really going to fix the problem you might feel better But there's still other things that you need to do and i want to be able to help you with that so I really think that awareness is part of the healing and so today was kind of about awareness like what is this other way of having anxiety And what can i learn about it And then there's so much to talk about Well, there will definitely be other episodes about it and what to do about it but i wanted you to know that sometimes there is anxiety That does seem to come out of nowhere and it's based in your brain and there's a reason why it's there but and i don't for us and for what i would do in life coaching we wouldn't go back to the root cause of where did all that come from now maybe therapy will do that and maybe that is what you need to do because sometimes you have to heal past trauma in order to go forward But It could also be [00:18:00] about the chemicals that are going around and it isn't about trauma and so the medication would be helpful but then you would still need to learn Like different ways to deal with that so If you want to work with someone one-on-one on this stuff that's what i'm here for so contact me if you need a one-to-one coach To walk you through your specific kind of anxiety and what to do about it or if you're a parent and you're like I just want to talk to someone to see if this is really even a thing cause sometimes teenagers and anxiety like anxiety responses it's a normal teen response but it also could be an anxiety response so then you're like okay which Is this the thing i should worry about or not So follow me on social media because i'm going to be giving tips and tricks along the way to help talk to you soon