Over stimulation in this modern world.
What happens to your brain?
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Take a moment to think about what your daily activities are…
Sport, technology, assessments, travel etc...
There is so much external stimulus that we are focusing on that can cause your brains to go into overdrive.
What does that mean??
Picture this:
You're being chased by these lions.
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Your primitive brain reacts into a fight or flight response!
Are you going to fight for survival against the lions, or run away when you are threatened?
YOU RUN.. of course...
I hope...
Your amygdala - a small almond shaped structure primes you to react in these cases. Your sympathetic nervous system is activated due to the sudden release of hormones, your heart rate increases, your muscles tense and breathing quickens.
This part of your brain and response system can save us when faced with physical life-threatening harm.
However, sometimes this response can get in our way in the modern world!
When we are overstimulated, we start to stress and worry about things that don’t have any harm on our survival.
For example: You might feel threatened by exams, being laughed at, unwanted change, pressure of assessments, being rejected.
These constant threats might make you feel like you are in and out of fight or flight mode all day.
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Being in this state when there is no life-threatening response can deplete your vital stores and can cause many health problems.
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Our brains are also capable of reasoning, thinking and planning. You can learn to become more mindful of certain threats and outsmart your primitive response to fear.
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The red section above in your brain is called the PREFRONTAL cortex.
It is in charge of reasoning, planning, decision making, problem solving, self control and much more.
When you feel stressed your prefrontal cortex almost switches off!
By taking part in mindful activities on a daily basis, you are helping calm down the reactive primitive part of your brain and re-engage the prefrontal cortex.
This should help you become a little more focused, empathetic, compassionate and attentive on a daily basis.
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Still Confused?
Watch this video by the smiling mind for some more information.
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