How Fear Hijacks the Mind

So many of us know what it feels like to be in the grip of fear, whether its financial, emotional, professional, or personal. You know intimately what your stomach feels like each time you have a bill you can’t pay. You are probably familiar with the pain in your chest when you think about that important relationship that went sour. You may even notice muscle tension and shallow breath when you come face to face with the person who always made you feel that you were not good enough.

Why?

Our limbic response, generated mostly by fear, has an important role to play in changing our physiology to meet the demands of a perceived threat. Our stomachs experience disturbances, our breath becomes shallow, our heart rate increases, and our muscles tense in readiness for some sort of action. But for most of us the action never comes. Instead, we allow the physiological response to become a familiar default. Is this a default you’d like to continue engaging? It’s possible to override this with the help of our conscious thought patterns, healthy nutrition, and basic lifestyle enhancements. The gifts of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) bring a host of tools online for us that can help mitigate that stress response. When we bring resources like blood, glucose and oxygen to the prefrontal cortex in a concentrated way through focus and exercise, we down-regulate our dominant fight-or-flight response, breaking the pattern in that basic shift. Exercising the PFC can be simple and fun if we bring it into our daily routine. Things like crossword puzzles, problem-solving, learning new skills and content, and trying novel approaches to the mundane are all ways in which we can exercise this part of our brain.

What more is possible when you gain mastery over unnecessary fears?

We invite you to find out at the Neurosculpting® Institute.

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“Lisa Wimberger has earned the right, through trial by fire, to be regarded as a rising star among meditation teachers.” —Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~