Emotional Experience and the Brain.

Why learn about the neurological underpinnings of emotional experience?

The experience and expression of emotion has neurological underpinnings; emotions are influenced and partly determined by the nervous system/brain. Some would argue entirely determined, I disagree, but to extrapolate would be moving into the realm of metaphysics and that’s not what this article is about.

Why is it important to understand the neurological mechanisms underlying our emotions? What difference does it make? These processes will happen regardless, will they not? The answer is no, to broaden understanding, to widen perspective and to gain a richer understanding of self are all extremely powerful ways of initiating change and action (sometimes the only way). Understanding emotion helps us to view them more clearly and in turn respond more effectively. This process is at the heart of psychotherapy, a journey of guided self-discovery and subsequent change.

In the words of Sir Francis Bacon “Knowledge is Power.”

Imagine being incredibly upset, emotionally dysregulated and behaving in ways not aligned with your desired self. Now imagine, you are armed with the knowledge of what might happening neurologically e.g., I am possibly experiencing an amygdala (the emotional centre of the brain) hijack because it was primed to be sensitive for whatever reason (childhood trauma, genetics, too much coffee that morning, an unexpected life circumstance). With this knowledge you have the power to act accordingly, i.e., implementing strategies to down-regulate the amygdala. See below. Additionally, having the knowledge that your emotional reactions are not “you” but perhaps an automatic and primed neurological reaction, leaves space for self-compassion and forgiveness. Self-compassion is an essential first step to emotional regulation as noted in Wexen’s article: Emotions and Emotional Dysregulation. First Steps to Healing.

What areas of the brain are implicated in emotional (dys)regulation?

The Amygdala and the Prefrontal Cortex

The amygdala and the prefrontal cortex are areas of the brain most associated with emotional (dys)regulation. The relationship, balance and tension between these two brain areas can shape the emotional landscape of an individual. Both are found in the front of the brain (see the pre-frontal cortex and amygdala below). Touch the front of your forehead, smack bang in the middle, that’s your pre-frontal cortex. Touch your temples either side of your head, that’s where your amygdalae are located, subcortically (deep within the brain), there are two, one either side.

*Quick intervention: Rubbing your temples, whilst imagining your amygdalae falling asleep has very real calming effects.

The amygdala serves as the emotional processing centre of the brain, enabling and processing emotions such as fear, anger, pleasure, as well as helping us to react to perceived threats in our environment. Some label it the “threat detector of the brain”, but this doesn’t capture the role of the amygdala entirely. The amygdala is also involved in the intensity and experience of positive emotion, not only, negative emotion. For people with emotional dysregulation the threat detecting abilities of the amygdala are in overdrive. The amygdala sees threats everywhere, even if there aren’t any, overreacting to stress and other stimuli. Activating the fight, flight, freeze, fawn, response.  Sometimes it’s hard to know what has set the threat detector off. The amygdala can initiate fear and anger even before conscious awareness of a threat, making emotional dysregulation, unpredictable, confusing and difficult to deal with.

Due to its important role of protection through speedy threat detection, the amygdala has the power to override the frontal lobes, prefrontal cortex and the memory/learning areas of the brain, this is known as an “amygdala or emotional hijack”. The frontal lobes, in particular, the prefrontal cortexes are essential for emotional regulation and formation.  The ability to rationalise and conceptualise our emotions as well as the capacity  to “turn them down” originates in the pre-frontal cortexes. The amygdala is essential for survival, it develops rapidly and early in life because of its emotional learning function and capacity. It quickly learns through early relationships and environment about safety and social cues. It prompts arousal, monitoring and reactivity to emotionally relevant stimuli, both negative and positive. A two-year-old has a highly sensitive amygdala, to make sense of the world in the context of emotion and safety, hence, the terrible twos. Adolescence is another hyper-sensitive stage for the amygdala (go easy on your teenagers). Unlike the amygdala that develops rapidly early in life the frontal lobes take at least two decades to fully develop. These higher-order areas of the brain take an extremely long time to develop due to the complex nature of the tasks/skills they are responsible for, e.g., emotional regulation and reasoning. These brain structures are shaped by our experiences and the learning that takes place during formative years, therefore, our experiences during childhood and adolescence can offer explanations for emotional reactivity and dysregulation in adulthood (neurological underpinnings of attachment theory).

As noted, the prefrontal cortex is involved in decision making, rational thinking and planning. The consequence of an amygdala highjack over these higher-order brain areas can include, heightened emotional reactions, finding relationships/ people difficult and “triggering”, impulsive behaviours, poor decision-making as well as interference with memory and learning. This has implications for self-efficacy, self-esteem, dream fulfillment and career progression. When the amygdala is highly sensitive, highjacks can happen daily, even multiple times daily, rendering life extremely painful and difficult to navigate.

Oscar Wilde’s quote captures the reality and commonality of the amygdala/emotional hijack. The inherent emotionality of the humans isn’t a bad thing. Emotions well-regulated (not suppressed) can be a very useful tool for discernment, self-discovery, motivation and intelligent decision making.

How to take your life back…? Downregulation of the amygdala.

For some with emotional dysregulation, the downregulation of the amygdala is an essential component of healing. To downregulate can mean to desensitise the amygdala to people, places or things that trigger an override of the pre-frontal areas of the brain (responsible for logic, reasoning, regulation). It can also mean to learn to inhibit the amygdala through top-down inhibition, that is, to use logic and reason to override emotional reactivity. A combination of both is most effective,  fortunately, there are numerous strategies and interventions that have been found to down-regulate and inhibit the amygdala. This article will highlight the most prevalent in research, although there are many other emerging, experimental and promising strategies/interventions that aren’t aligned with the scope of this article.  

*Strategies are split into preventative measures, strategies that can be implemented during an amygdala/emotional hijack) and intensive/comprehensive interventions, all of which can be implemented concurrently.

Preventative

There are pre-emptive steps an individual can take to keep their amygdala from firing up at inopportune times. For some, these preventative steps are all that is needed in which their emotional dysregulation is just a symptom of body, mind, and self not being looked after.

Sleep, Diet, Exercise: The Lifestyle Trifecta.

Starting with the basics! Daily habits that target sleep, diet and exercise will serve as the foundation for the downregulation of a hyper-sensitive amygdala. Lifestyle interventions that target sleep, diet, and exercise as an adjunct to psychotherapy improve outcomes. Numerous studies have shown that those who are sleep-deprived, lack essential nutrition and are sedentary will experience a more sensitive amygdala and an impaired pre-frontal cortex. A neurological combination that will inevitably create emotional suffering. If your body and brain are not receiving their minimum requirements/basic needs, the areas of the brain responsible for threat detection and protection will be in overdrive and the brain areas responsible for complex tasks will not have the energy to fulfil tasks such as sound reasoning and emotional regulation.

*Quick tips*

At the very minimum individuals should be walking 6000 steps a day, preferably outside. An exercise routine three days a week on top of this is desirable. There are resources aplenty on the internet. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring and can align with your personality, fitness levels and interests, make it so!

Develop a sleep-hygiene routine (upcoming article, subscribe here).  

Nutrition! Often overlooked in psychological intervention. A common myth in modern nutrition is that fat is bad for us, however, insufficient fatty acids are implicated in mood disorders and emotional dysregulation. Higher consumption of fatty acids has been shown to increase brain health/longevity, increase learning and memory and blood flow to the brain. Fifty percent of the brains dry mass is made of lipids (fatty acid)! Think eggs, grass-fed meat, cheese, whole-fat fermented dairy for a healthy brain and a head start on your journey to emotional regulation.

Extreme calorie restriction is not recommended for those struggling with emotional dysregulation. Have you heard of the term “hangry”? Multiply this by 1000 for those with an overactive amygdala. If you are hungry and upset, go grab a wholesome snack, eat it slowly and see how you feel after. I am almost certain you will feel at least 50% better.

If weight loss is desirable, it is advisable to approach this very slowly with only small reductions in calories.

Avoid too much sugar and caffeine both of which are shown to sensitise the amygdala, the opposite of what a person with emotional dysregulation is trying to achieve!

Alcohol damages and disables the areas of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and memory; it’s probably best for those experiencing emotional dysregulation to manage their alcohol intake. Wexen can help with this.

Stress Reduction

Chronic stress can lead to hyperactivity of the amygdala, correspondingly, stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala and reductions in emotional reactivity. Busyness for some is equated to success, this busyness can culminate into a life of chronic stress. ***A life of chronic stress is not success. Implementing stress reduction strategies acts as a preventative measure for emotional reactivity and dysregulation. This needs to be approached subjectively, stress reduction is highly individualistic, that is, each person relaxes differently. One person might find reading a book relaxing, some might enjoy a long soak in an Epsom salt bath, others a massage. Journaling, stretching, dance have been highlighted as stress-relieving. Walking outdoors (particularly in nature) and time-spent connecting with liked friends and family are noted extensively in research as being effective stress reduction strategies. Tinkering in your shed/workshop, martial arts, watching sports or playing video games (in moderation). These are all examples of activities that may reduce stress, there are innumerable examples. Experiment, test, readjust and work out what works for you, some people have spent their whole adult lives not knowing how to relax, take the time to learn about this aspect of yourself. Make the time to do these enjoyable and relaxing activities when feeling stressed. Not only will it benefit productivity (the reason for the extreme busyness in the first place) but more importantly your well-being and quality of life. A person cannot be their most productive and functional when chronically stressed.

Set boundaries and learn to say no to extra work, both at work and at home. If your workload is too high, try and reduce it. List your daily tasks by level of importance and cross off those that aren’t really that important when feeling overwhelmed. Can you delegate some tasks? Work smarter, not harder!

Meditation

Long-term meditators (those superhumans with more than 10000 hours under their belt) have been found to have much smaller amygdalae and have managed to curtail the shrinkage of the frontal cortexes associated with aging. One study found that individuals aged fifty and above who were long-term meditators had brains comparable to those of twenty-five-year-olds. A shrunken amygdala and larger frontal cortexes? What does that mean? Less emotional reactivity, a lot less. The good thing is that 10000 hours isn’t needed to start accruing these benefits. Less emotional reactivity and improved attention are the first improvements seen when starting a meditation practice. However, getting started and knowing where to start, can be difficult! There’s a mountain of information out there, mass variation in meditation types, approaches, viewpoints, apps and many convoluted guided meditations. It can be hard to decipher what’s useful and what’s not. None of this is needed to get started.

A simple beginners meditation practice can look like this:

Grab a cushion or chair, some say to lie down, I don’t. I nearly always fall asleep. Set a 10-minute timer. Sit up straight. Close your eyes, place your hands on your lap or knees and start to breathe. Notice the breath coming in and out of your nose and focus on this. Every-time a thought, feeling, bodily sensation, emotion arises, let it pass and refocus on your breath. Each time you get distracted, move back to the breath. Getting distracted by your thoughts and feelings isn’t a failure its just an opportunity to refocus. 10-minutes twice a day is a good place to start, if 10 minutes proves too much, go for 5, or even 2 minutes. Over-time you will gain the confidence to explore different meditation techniques and you can find what is most suitable for you. Wexen will be writing a more comprehensive article soon: “How to get started on your meditation journey” Subscribe to receive a notification when its up.

During an amygdala/emotional hijack

So you are implementing all of these preventative measures in your personal life to downregulate your hypersensitive amygdala, perhaps even going to therapy, but inevitably something happens. A family member has been insensitive, maybe you were criticised at work, or life just feels entirely overwhelming. You end up having this huge emotional reaction, you feel incredibly upset and not in control. Luckily, steps can be taken to put you back in the driving seat of these intense emotions. You can continue to be the person you want to be in spite of these strong and intense experiences!

Reset

Don’t react, make an excuse to leave the situation if you can ( I need to go to the bathroom, can we come back to this later? I’m not feeling great). Use this time to reset.

Consciously relax jaw and shoulders.

Take a cold shower, if this isn’t an option, splash your face with cold water.

Exercise. Optimal would be a a run or a walk in nature, a walk will do, star-jumps, burpees, push ups.

Chew on ice.

Have an object that you mess around with when you are feeling emotionally dysregulated. Twist your pen between your fingers. A marble. Anything. Focus on the object in your hands.

Buy some very strong mints and/or chewing gum, chew on it, focus on the refreshing feeling. Let it invigorate you.

Be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that this will pass.

Imagine the power of your emotions channeling into something positive.

Breath (see below).

Breathwork

There are an abundance of breathwork exercises that can be used to calm the nervous system in difficult circumstances, I won’t describe them all here in detail but I will provide you with a list of exercises you can look up, experiment with and apply.

Some simple breathwork exercises include, 4-4-4, also known as box breathing or square breathing, the 4-7-8 breathing technique, the physiological sigh, deep breathing and belly breathing. Research these techniques, try them out and see which ones work best for you. It’s a good idea to practice these techniques when you are regulated so you are well-versed and can implement in times of difficulty.

Cognitive tasks

It is well-established that cognitive tasks, that is, tasks that are intellectually stimulating are a potent down-regulator of difficult and intense emotions. Two birds, one stone. Getting calmer and getting smarter, its a win, win!

Cognitive tasks can include:

To Learn a poem, passage from a book, or a quote. Or recite a poem, passage from a book or quote you have already learned. Visualise the words for extra downregulation.

Pick a category and in your head name as many things in that category, for example, types of flowers. I would say to myself “hydrangea, primrose, dandelion, poppy, daisy, foxglove” and so on. Add visualisation.

Do crossword puzzles, sudoku, or any other paper-based puzzles.

Use mental math. Attempt to say a times table backwards in your head or choose a number and try and think five ways you could make the number.

There are innumerable options. Look some up and take ownership of your recovery.

*** Be prepared. Carry a sudoku, wordsearch book, categories, around with you. Write down the poem, passage of a book or quote you want to learn, carry it with you and try and learn when you are feeling dysregulated.

Contacting the Present Moment

There are various techniques for contacting the present moment. When we are emotionally dysregulated we tend to either be hyperfocused on our physiological reactions, e.g., thumping heart, red face, shaky hands, or hooked in our thoughts, thinking about scenarios past and future. We become the difficult emotion. Bringing our awareness to outside our body and mind and into our present environment acts as a grounding mechanism. Look up, “dropping the anchor,” from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the “5-4-3-2-1 technique” to get started. As noted previously, practice these skills when calm and regulated so they can be implemented quickly and effectively in the midst of dysregulation.

Intensive and Comprehensive

Intensive and comprehensive intervention for downregulation of the amygdala refers to psychotherapeutic approaches. Implementing all of the above will be helpful, but receiving therapy from trained professionals is the gold-standard for recovery.

Collaborative professional support will ensure you are on the right track, that you have strategies that are tailored to your specific difficulties as well as enabling a compassionate and supportive relationship to prop you up and motivate you along the way. Wexen specialises specifically in emotional dysregulation and utilises the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders. This treatment amalgamates numerous different techniques and approaches to target emotional dysregulation from all potential angles/antecedents. Emotional regulation therapy should be intensive and comprehensive. Wexen also incorporates existential techniques to help you find purpose and meaning in your life through self-discovery, a fundamental aspect of emotional wellbeing.

Other intensive established and emerging therapies found to be effective for the downregulation of the amygdala include:

Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Neurofeedback

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

Wexen is more than happy to refer clients to credible psychologists and therapists who provide these services. WhatsApp us or book a free consultation below.