You’ve heard of the Amygdala, right?

No…. well that’s okay it doesn’t always get the publicity it might deserve. Why have I raised this topic you want to know?

Well…

The amygdala is one of the oldest parts of the brain, and is designed to quickly detect threats in the environment.

When we experience a threatening situation, the fight-or-flight response is triggered.  The amygdala sends signals that increases blood pressure, adrenaline, and the hormone cortisol, mobilizing the strength and energy needed to confront or avoid a threat.

It’s like an alarm system! Pretty clever bit of design, only………..

Sometimes levels of activation in the amygdala can continue on after the stressful event has passed. It is as if we haven’t quite managed to switch our internal alarm system off.  Longer term this isn’t particularly good for us.

There is emerging evidence, however, that developing self-compassion skills (Compassionate Mind Training) can really help us to balance out the threat response and reduce levels of activation in the amygdala. This can really be helpful and can help us bounce back a bit better following a setback or adversity.

Compassionate Mind Training is not a quick fix but it does help to teach longer term skills, quite quickly, that can be carried forward as we move through life.

If you would like support on any of the issues above please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us!

We also provide training on Compassionate Mind Skills for Organisations.