| Yesterday, I was involved in an incident of road rage that has left me shaken, my car damaged, and my neck bruised. It all happened quickly. One minute I was driving along in the flow of traffic, and the next, a man brandishing a sjambok leapt from his car in an attempt to assault the driver in front of me. In that moment, I could see the uncontrolled rage on this man’s face. He was beyond reach. There was no way of calming him down. It was frightening. Yet, so many of us come face-to-face with this level of anger every day. More and more people are living on the edge of suppressed rage. This unregulated level of emotion is a part of our brain called the amygdala. This small part of our brains is involved in processing emotions. It is sometimes called ‘the emotional brain.’ When you sense danger, the amygdala can override that part of your brain engaged in logical reasoning. Before you can think, an autonomic ‘fight or flight’ trigger takes over. It’s as if your brain hits the emergency button and you react without thinking clearly before you act. It is possible and important to learn how to regulate these intense emotions. How do you handle conflict? How do you respond to being bullied? An amygdala hijack is your brain’s way of trying to protect you. The only way to regulate your emotions is to regain control in the moment a trigger appears and choose to pause before responding, to calm down and remove yourself from the situation for a while. There are ways to regulate your state of mind. They can be the difference between lashing out and taking control of your emotional brain. You can: Pause and breathe Name Your Feelings Practice Self-awareness Respond, don’t react. Build Emotional Intelligence Fortunately, the angry driver was called to task by a police officer who took control of the situation. He was the voice of reason. |
