Mindful Musings: Calling the Tune of Amygdala

Mindful Musings: Calling the Tune of Amygdala

The almond-shaped structure, the amygdala, hijacks our brain away and puts it into an emergency mood, running as an alarm system. Whenever our amygdala senses a threat, it “rings a mental alarm bell” to tell our hypothalamus to prepare our body to respond. And it does this very rapidly, resulting in us reacting emotionally to an object or situation before we can even name it. For example, we may jump–before our brain can even think of the word “snake”–when we see a snake-shaped object on a hiking trail. When we get stressed and our amygdala sends us into “fight, flight, or freeze” mode, we may feel fear, panic, or anger. Practicing mindfulness over time makes our amygdala less reactive to negative events or uncertainty in our environment and helps our hippocampus process stressful events more effectively. Mindfulness–based interventions can help to reduce our feelings of stress, lower our blood pressure, and improve our resistance to illness. Repeated practice of mindfulness over weeks or months may even change the structure of our amygdala. It will allow our mind and body to rest peacefully and enjoy the moment despite the stress.

              

The amygdala's involvement in stress
Source: Pinterest

After waking up, instead of jumping out of bed, we should make time for the STOP practice. Stopping whatever we’re doing and bringing back our mind to the present moment, taking a few deep breaths to slow down our “fight, flight, or freeze” response, observing what we’re feeling, thinking, or doing, along with describing any bodily sensations, and finally proceeding–when we’re feeling sufficiently present and aware–go about our business in a deliberate way can help us to start our day off on a mindful note. Besides, when we’re in a shower, we should notice the flow, temperature, and sound of the water, the bubbles, and the smell of the soap. When we drink our morning coffee, we should notice the smell of the coffee beans, the warmth of the cup, and the taste of the first sip. In the same manner, as we eat our breakfast, we should slow down and pay attention to the sight, smell, and taste of the food and how it feels to chew and swallow. These can be a splendid and foolproof way to integrate mindfulness into our everyday lives and to call the tune of the amygdala.

Practice mindfulness through deep breathing
Source: Pinterest

When we are stressed, our amygdala creates an impetus for action to eliminate the threat so that we can be safe. Finding solutions or learning new skills in a stressful situation requires a goal-oriented mindset. But our body and mind also need periods to rest and quiet so that we don’t get depleted by too much “doing.” By deliberately focusing attention on our senses instead, we move from a “doing,” “getting,” or “avoiding” mindset to “noticing and describing” the world around us. This helps us feel more present and connected. When we are mindful of what's around us, we gain awareness that we’re part of a larger world of living and inanimate objects. Mindfulness teaches us how to just “be” in the moment, without any particular goal or outcome, and without judging our experience or wanting to get rid of it. Being mindful means having an open, accepting, and compassionate attitude towards our own experience in the present moment, whatever that may be. It means allowing rather than pushing away our inner experience; it means being in the moment rather than constantly worrying or rushing around. It sometimes takes weeks or even months of practice to really understand what it means to be mindful. Scented candles, seashells, mints, springs of lavender or rosemary, flowers or leaves, lemons, small grass bottles, wooden beads, soft fabric or hand cream, and smooth stones can be an anchor for our mindful attention. We can practice mindfulness lying in bed, sitting cross-legged or in a chair, or even while walking. Research shows that practicing mindfulness for at least thirty minutes per day can shrink our amygdala (Holzel, 2011). Practicing mindfulness teaches us a stress proof attitude that we can integrate into every aspect of our daily lives. And the more we integrate mindfulness into our life, the more opportunity we’ll have to calm our amygdala when it starts hijacking our brain. So, to call the tune of our amygdala, we should practice mindfulness as often as we can!