Change Your Brain Every Day - How Do You React Under High Pressure?

Episode Date: September 11, 2017

Did you know that parts of our brains play a major part in how we react to high pressure situation?  Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen break down the reasons why certain people are more attracted to danger than others.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. Here we teach you how to win the fight for your brain to defeat anxiety, depression, memory loss, ADHD, and addictions. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we've transformed lives for three decades using brain spec imaging to better target treatment and natural ways to heal the brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceutical products to support the health of your brain and body. For more information, visit brainmdhealth.com. Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. So we are talking today about would you run into a burning building? No. Why? Unless you were there.

That's what I wanted to know. Would you run in after me? I would. I don't really trust you now. You just said no. Well, in general, there are people who run toward fires, and then there are people like me that run away from fires. Yeah, but you'd at least call 911. Absolutely, I'd call 911.

Well, for you, I would actually go in the building because without you, I would be lost. I would be sad. Thank you for saying you would go in after me. So I don't think people who would run into a building, I don't think it's like a choice. I think we're just wired that way. Well, it's both. There are people who've been burned and so they've been taught it's hot in there. Oh, yeah. So, okay. So, yes. That makes sense.

So, there's always sort of a biology to it, but there's a psychology to who... And this is really important because some people are wired to be firefighters and some people are not wired. So when we say burning building, that's a metaphor. What we really mean is, would you run into action? Would you be the person to run in and save someone in a car accident? Are you that person that has to jump in to stop something bad from happening? Are you that person that has to always put your two cents, help someone out that's from happening? Are you that person that has to like, um, you know, always put your two, like help someone out that's in trouble. Are you that person that has to go into that building? Um, even if it's dangerous, it doesn't have to necessarily mean a burning

building. So that's the metaphor. So you're an ICU nurse trauma. You're a trauma nurse. And so when something traumatic is happening. I have to jump in. You jump in. I can't help it. It's like. And we are walking in the neighborhood with Tinkerbell. Why are you so amused by this story? He's amused by it.

And there were two pit bulls off their leashes and i grabbed tinkerbell and you jumped in front of me and started screaming at the pit bulls and they like went we're not going to deal with this crazy woman and ran away he makes me sound crazy i I'm not that crazy. I'm not crazy. It's just. And I have to tell you, I was never more in love with you that day. No, he was laughing at me. It was hysterical. But I was never more in love with you that day

because I was in the army. I was an infantry medic. And one of my first jobs was as an ambulance driver. And I realized that there are some people that go toward burning buildings. And there's other people that don't. And I was one of the ones that didn't. And I used to sort of feel bad about it. That I'm like, maybe I'm not hero material.

No, there are different kinds of heroes. and i think we need to make that clear medic i realized i just i didn't like being shot at it irritated me it upset me it's like they're bullets you know one could go through my skull this is not like fun where other people just thought it was like the most awesome thing i get to jump out of planes well how cool is that and that would be so much why would you ever jump out of a good plane okay why is that fun see i think i didn't get enough testosterone when i was born because the idea of like repelling down buildings and jumping out of planes and shooting guns for a living. Oh my God. That would be like my dream job. Right. You asked me, isn't that what you always wanted to be?

Yeah. And your reply, no, I wanted to be a playboy photographer. What? Like what? Who says that? Who says that? Normal people. No, normal, normal. Like most men that I know would want the job that I like jumping out of buildings and rappelling. Like that would be cool. But let's talk about the brain biology of what's going on in someone's brain that makes them run into a building or not.

So it has to do with the circuit in the brain that involves an area called the basal ganglia. There are two big structures deep in the brain and the prefrontal cortex. And on the inside of your temporal lobes, an area called the amygdala. And we know the amygdala, when it works too hard, people tend to feel panicky, anxious, nervous. That's also true for the basal ganglia. And if your frontal lobes are busy, so like Chloe's, our daughter, she has really busy frontal lobes. She's likely not going to be that person who gets joy.

No, she does not like karate. Running into a burning building. But if your frontal lobes are a little bit low and your amygdala and basal ganglia are a little bit low, well, you're always trying to do things to turn them on and there are some people that are excitement seeking drama driven yes they love the fatal attraction sort of relationships and that's like not me but wait there's i'm going to push on that because i think that's part of it but I think there's another part of it. I think part of it might have to do with how you grow up. So like your experiences growing up. Um, so like, I know in my case, you came out to, I just have to

say this, like preface this, he came outside and Chloe and I were setting up a tent in the backyard, um, because, and you were like, why are you in the backyard in a tent? So it did made no sense in your mind. And we are getting ready to do a survival course, a wilderness survival course. And the second phase of the course, you don't actually get to use a tent. You have to build your own shelter and you don't get to take food. You have to actually find your own food. So you're like, why is that fun? Like, why would you ever do that? Now, for me, there may be part of it. Right, because I was in the army and I had to do that. And it wasn't fun. So it's not like I have no experience with this. I slept in a tent in the winter for three months. Right. And your idea of success is never having to do that again. But part of it is,

I didn't grow up, like there was a lot of stuff from growing up and I hate being a victim. Like the word victim, like makes me ill. Like I, it's repulsive to me. So if something kind of scares me, like if I have a fear of something and it kind of scares me, it's almost like,

okay, I need to go figure it out. I have to figure out how to transform that fear into something more useful. Bears scare you. You're going to go hang out with bears? No, I have to figure out how to turn that into a more useful, resourceful energy. Like I don't like being scared. I don't like being a victim. I don't like it. So there's this something about it that's like, no, I don't, I don't feel comfortable living there. So you want to challenge yourself? Or, or, or turn it into something more resourceful, yes.

Yeah, I don't like, yeah. So it's like, okay, what is this thing that's bothering me? So I want to talk to the people who are more like me. And if when something, because you've heard this in the news a lot, that if something is, you know know someone's being attacked that the people around them literally will freeze and and not engage in in the in rescuing that person and it's often because the anxiety centers in their brain are naturally overactive. And so in those stressful situations, they freeze. It's a biological reaction.

Which is not the best thing to do, but it's what often happens when people become afraid. Right. And so rather than feel bad about it, what you're trying to do is overcome it right so that if you ever you know if we ever get to the end of the world that you'll be able to live in the wilderness right in my mind if we ever get to the end of the world i'll peacefully say transition yeah no i'm not i'm going down with a fight you know to the next state right whatever? Whatever that might be. Yes. Um, so there are different kinds

of heroes, right? We don't want to make anybody feel bad because you don't do something. I actually think we're sort of hardwired to some degree to do some of the things we do. Um, I don't like think to myself, Oh, it would be fun to go jump in front of a pit bull. By the time I realized I was doing it, it was too late. Um, so there are people who we react in certain ways. And I know women who have been attacked. Freezing wasn't what they wanted to do. Okay. And it's a really scary thing. So it's not by choice, I don't think. That there's a biology to it and understanding yours and there are ways to calm down those emotional centers in your brain so that you can react in a healthier way than freezing.

Well, the first thing to do is get control of your breathing. It is take a big breath, take a few seconds to blow it out because what happens when people freeze is their breathing becomes very fast and very shallow. So just something simple, take control of it and then make any movement. And the next thing is move your eyes from side to side. You tend to get tunnel vision. And if you can break that tunnel vision, that's one thing that will really help you as well. Um, and so yeah, start to move a little bit because you start to like freeze up. So for sure.

And now you can also train long term. Understand your past has biology to it. And so if you've beaten yourself up for not reacting like you would have in retrospect, it may not have just been a choice. It may have had something to do with what was going on in your brain. So we will be going out to the wilderness. You will be staying at home. I'll be rooting for them.

I'll be texting them. I'll be taking care of the dog and the cat. And we will be inside where it's warm where there's cable and having a good time all right so we will see you guys soon they'll report them thank you for listening to the brain warriors way podcast go to it iTunes and leave a review and you'll automatically be entered into a drawing to get a free signed copy of The Brain Warrior's Way and The Brain Warrior's Way cookbook we give away every month.