Science-Backed Tool to Calm An Amygdala Hijack

When you are in the middle of an amydala hijack and your emotions are just going wild. This part of your brain is on

wild. This part of your brain is on fire. But if you do this one simple

fire. But if you do this one simple thing, you will light up this part of your brain and this part calms down. So

I'm going to share what this one simple technique is as well as show you some fMRI studies that show you how it impacts what part of your brain is being

engaged. give you the scientifically

engaged. give you the scientifically proven benefits of using this technique.

And I know that this technique is going to sound so simple, you're going to be like, "Yeah, that doesn't work for me."

But I'm going to share some specific techniques about how to implement this technique to help you regulate your

emotions. So this technique is called a

emotions. So this technique is called a effect labeling. But what that means is

effect labeling. But what that means is that you put into words what emotion you are feeling. And again, don't hang up on

are feeling. And again, don't hang up on me. Stay with me because I will tell you

me. Stay with me because I will tell you why this works and also what you can do to help it work. But the simple act of identifying exactly what emotion you're feeling, and I know that can be hard for

some people, so we'll talk about that, too. But that simple act engages your

too. But that simple act engages your frontal lobe. Specifically, it engages

frontal lobe. Specifically, it engages your right ventrolateral preffrontal cortex. But you cannot actually put

cortex. But you cannot actually put feelings into words without utilizing that part of the brain. And this part of the brain is involved in processing

emotions, analyzing emotions, thinking about emotions. And fMRI studies show

about emotions. And fMRI studies show increased activity in this part of the brain when people do affect labeling.

And then the right ventrilateral prefrontal cortex. And you definitely

prefrontal cortex. And you definitely don't need to remember the names of these parts of the brain. I have to double check that I'm getting them right frequently, but that communicates with

the medial prefrontal cortex, MPFC, and I'm going to show you here these on the screen. And then the

screen. And then the MPFC communicates to the amygdala. So,

it's kind of the connector between the moment when you label your emotion. It's

the MPFC that then communicates to the amydala and begins to calm it down. It

actually dampens the activity in the amygdala. So, most of you know that the

amygdala. So, most of you know that the amygdala is your century. It's the part of your brain that's always looking for danger and yelling fire, fire, fire. And

when there actually is a fire, it's great to have the amydala. It gets you moving quickly to address a very dangerous situation. The problem with

dangerous situation. The problem with the amygdala in current day society is that it's an alarm that's going off all the time when we are not actually in

immediate physical danger. So hopefully

you've watched my other two videos on the amydala hijack and if not I will I will link them right up here so you can watch those. But this is the part of the

watch those. But this is the part of the brain that creates the fightflight freeze response. It intensifies all of

freeze response. It intensifies all of our emotions as if we were under a survival threat. And when we're under a

survival threat. And when we're under a survival threat, we don't really prioritize relationships. We don't

prioritize relationships. We don't prioritize reason, thinking things through, planning, choosing reasonable

responses with our words, choosing reasonable actions, none of that. We are

just totally reactive and it gets us into a lot of trouble. So, pausing and really thinking through what you are feeling, activating these other regions

of your brain and your amygdala will calm down. So, I'm putting here the name

calm down. So, I'm putting here the name of the authors and the article that describes the research that I'm talking about just in case you're interested in looking into it yourself. But to

summarize the research, the participants looked at upsetting pictures which activated their amydala.

And then the researchers had different control groups and asked them to do different things when they looked at these pictures. So that people who were

these pictures. So that people who were labeling what emotion they felt had much lower activity in the amygdala than those who did other types of labeling.

Say labeling the gender in the picture, labeling the emotions shown in the picture and then simply observe it. And

the researchers also found that there was an inverse relationship between the activity in the amydala and the activity here in the frontal lobe. So that when

this was more active, this was less active. An inverse relationship. So I

active. An inverse relationship. So I

don't know if it helps you to understand how it works when we engage different parts of our brain in terms of what we want to accomplish and what we want to

feel. But I know it's helpful for me to

feel. But I know it's helpful for me to know that there's actually physical evidence that what we think about

changes what's happening in our brain.

We can change which area of our brain is lit up depending on where we direct our attention. I think it's kind of

attention. I think it's kind of mind-blowing actually. And in case you

mind-blowing actually. And in case you are interested, I do have a free webinar on rewire your brain for joy and confidence. And I do talk about the

confidence. And I do talk about the neuroplasticity, the fact that we can actually change the wiring in our brain by changing behaviors and thoughts so

that we can live a more joyful life and feel more confident. I'll put the information here on the screen and I will also link it here and links will be in the description. Okay, so let's talk

about the practical ways to implement a effect labeling. So step one is to pause

effect labeling. So step one is to pause and think about what you are feeling physically and emotionally. Again, in

the middle of an amydala hijack, if you don't pause, you're not going to engage the other part of your brain. And I'm

also going to talk about how to strengthen your ability to do this because I know many of you might be being like, "Yeah, well, I won't be able to do that in the middle of a hijack."

But as soon as you can pause and identify where you're feeling. And step

two is to really be specific about the emotion you are naming. And it's very helpful to use an emotion chart. There

are many of these online. I'm going to share one I found here on the screen which I found at printably.com. But don't just say, "Oh,

printably.com. But don't just say, "Oh, I feel bad." Okay. Well, how do you feel bad? Or even anger can be very general.

bad? Or even anger can be very general.

Is it frustration? Is it rage? And then

maybe there's another emotion there.

like think through is there an emotion underneath that obvious one because very often underneath anger is hurt or sadness. Same thing with anxiety. If you

sadness. Same thing with anxiety. If you

label label it like I'm just anxious maybe be specific. Describe it a little bit more specifically and then see is there another emotion there. We very

often feel more than one emotion at once which can make this a little bit complicated. My step three here is going

complicated. My step three here is going to be aware. if you are feeling anxious about labeling your emotion because a lot of people don't know what they're feeling and then they get anxious about

that and then they criticize themselves.

So, I'm just going to put this right out here. Don't worry about it. You could

here. Don't worry about it. You could

say, "Hm, I'm not sure what I'm thinking. I think I'm well, I know I'm

thinking. I think I'm well, I know I'm anxious. I'm not sure what else I'm

anxious. I'm not sure what else I'm thinking. I might be irritated. Maybe

thinking. I might be irritated. Maybe

I'm feeling a little bit scared." You can elaborate on it. And

scared." You can elaborate on it. And

don't worry if you don't know exactly the emotion, it's okay. And the more you can either say this out loud or at least say it in words in your head. Out loud

probably best. But if you'd prefer to just do it internally, you can do that too. Use your words, right? You know, we

too. Use your words, right? You know, we say that to kids all the time. But it's

really true. It's just engages a different part of your brain. So that

point number three was don't get anxious if you don't know exactly what you're feeling. spend a little time

feeling. spend a little time investigating and be okay with the not knowing. And another aside here, I do

knowing. And another aside here, I do have a whole bunch of videos about emotional intelligence, which is really the ability to identify the emotion. And

often it's about identifying the emotion under the emotion. So you can take a look at those when you have time. But

just also understand, maybe this is my point number four. Step number four, it takes time to develop the awareness and understanding of our emotions. Allow

yourself to practice with this.

Expanding your emotional vocabulary has been tied to more mental well-being. So,

take the time to do that. Okay. Next

step, observe these emotions non-judgmentally. Again, don't give

non-judgmentally. Again, don't give yourself a hard time like, oh, I always do this. Just observe. Try to be as

this. Just observe. Try to be as non-judgmental as possible. The other

thing that comes up a lot is if people are angry, they'll be like, "I shouldn't be angry. I shouldn't be angry. It's bad

be angry. I shouldn't be angry. It's bad

to be angry." It's okay to feel angry.

It's okay to feel whatever we are feeling. What behavior comes out of that

feeling. What behavior comes out of that feeling is what's really important. And

that's what this entire process is.

Slowing down, calming down so that you will be able to choose an action rather than simply be reactive. So let yourself have the feelings and know that they are

separate from the behavior that often comes after them but doesn't have to come after them. Let me know if that made sense. You can always comment

made sense. You can always comment below. Tell me if that made sense to

below. Tell me if that made sense to you. I think it's really useful to keep

you. I think it's really useful to keep that in mind. And my last suggestion for implementing this tool, which was not in the research by the way, but I think is

really important, is to combine the affect labeling, combine the naming of the emotion with something that is

physiologically relaxing. Could be a

physiologically relaxing. Could be a deep diaphragmatic breath. It could be going for a slow walk in nature. It

could be petting your animal. If you pet your dog or your cat while you start to name these emotions, that will be really helpful. And then lastly, as you

helpful. And then lastly, as you practice this, notice if it does calm you down. Notice if it does shift how

you down. Notice if it does shift how you're thinking and feeling. And

actually, let me add a last step here because I mentioned it briefly before, but practice this when you are not in the middle of an amydala hijack.

Practice it on a normal day. Today I'm

feeling okay. But let's be a little more specific than okay. Use the feeling chart to really identify what is it that feels okay? What are you feeling when

feels okay? What are you feeling when you feel okay? Or if you're feeling a little low, what is it? So practice

using the feelings chart and the labeling of your emotions, not only when you're in the midst of a huge upset. So

to summarize for you the key benefits of affect labeling that are scientifically proven, it reduces the intensity of negative emotion. It helps you regain

negative emotion. It helps you regain control during very difficult emotional times. It allows you to have a more

times. It allows you to have a more thoughtful response to a situation in terms of what you do and what you say.

And it will help you improve your emotional intelligence, your awareness of your own emotions, both what you're feeling and physically feeling and

emotionally feeling. And that has been

emotionally feeling. And that has been tied to mental well-being. So, you do have the ability to calm your amygdala,

to calm your reactivity, and to begin to regulate your emotions. And this will get easier over time. If you did like this video, I'd really appreciate it if you hit that like button, subscribe to

my channel. It's a big help. And I'll

my channel. It's a big help. And I'll

put here on the screen the other amydala videos that I have that you might find useful. And you should also be able to

useful. And you should also be able to find a link right there, probably on the screen, to the webinar, the free webinar, and to a playlist about the

emotional intelligence videos. All

right, have a great week.