Anger is an adaptive survival energy that has been part of our innate coping mechanisms as humans. If safely and properly channeled, it could be a potent force for change. For example, thousands of charitable causes have been established as a result of redirected anger for the common good. Likewise, millions of relationships have been salvaged because someone somehow refused to let the survival brain overpower the rational, relational and logical brain in the heat of the moment. Although anger can be a powerful force for change, it can also be extremely destructive if handled wrongly and allowed to become Continue reading
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Your fight/flight response is an adaptive survival energy that gets triggered whenever you're threatened or stressed. If you get stressed out a lot, that means your stress response is probably working too hard. This is something you have to do something about if you are to maintain or regain wellness. Why? Simply because overactive and chronic stress response has been linked to a variety of biological and mental health issues including cardiovascular dysfunction, digestive issues, hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, etc. By turning on your stress response for too long without viable outlets for turning it off, the Continue reading
There are two regions of the brain critical to memory formation and retrieval; the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and the hippocampus. The PFC, the boss of the psyche, encodes memory via the excitations of its numerous synaptic networks, while the hippocamus, often refered to as the major memory centre, consolidates memories through its short-term and long-term memory compatments. Unfortunately, chronic stress exposure, including repeated trauma, affects these two regions of the brain. Under intense stressors, the PFC loses its neuronal access to integrative memories that could have prevented a cascade of fight-or-flight responses, while the hippocampus' nervous projections shrivel and retract Continue reading
The part of the brain that is heavily involved in survival activities is also involved in mediating appetite. This means that trauma or stress can dysregulate the neuro-physiological networks involved in the regulation of appetite, leading to maladaptation. For example, acutely stress out a lab rat and it becomes hypophagic (its appetite is surpressed). Chronically stress out the same rat (please don't try this at home?) and it becomes hyperphagic(its appetite is stimulated). Although this process is also applicable to humans, it is far from straightforward as humans are extremely complex. There are several factors that can mediate whether Continue reading
Your body is a powerful biofeedback device. It communicates with your awareness centre about your state of being. The term 'soma' is a Greek word that means 'body.' The subconscious intelligence of the body that evaluates environmental and viscera risk factors while alerting the brain accordingly via its sensory nerves is what is referred to as The Somatic Intelligence. Your somatic intelligence is designed to draw your attention to a potentially state of unease before it becomes a full blown disorder. Unfortunately, many of us override or are complete unaware of our bodily cues to self-regulate. This could lead to Continue reading
Do you know that regular singing can help you manage anxiety and stress? Singing aloud is perhaps one of the most underrated stress management activities. Singing is a powerful neuro-exercise that has the ability to not only change your mood but also your physiological state. The management of your exhalation (out-breathe) that is consistent with singing aloud triggers a neuro-regulation of safety in your heart’s pacemaker, leading to a physiological shift from a defensive mode of stress to a safety mode of relaxation, tranquility and healing. In this clip, I explain in detail how this process works and how singing Continue reading
Like many modern cars that are equipped with an adaptive cruise-control with the capability to know when to cruise, accelerate, slow down or shutdown, the human nervous system contains an inbuilt adaptive mechanism that constantly evaluates risks and safety in your environment to determine whether or not it should cruise, mobilise or immobilise survival energy. In humans, the immobilisation defence system (such as, dissociation, numbness, passing out, frozenness, vasovagal syncope etc.) is as crucial for survival as the mobilisation defence system (such as, hyperarousal, hyper-vigilance, insomnia, panic attacks and anxiety, etc.). These two systems are designed to enhance your chances Continue reading
Your physical and emotional wellness is strongly connected to the quality of your social affiliations. The brain is a relational organ that requires constant social interactions to stay in a positive state that supports cognitive and emotional resilience. The resiliency of your entire nervous system is encoded in its regular cues of safety and love it derives from its environment. Social isolation is by far a bigger risk factor regarding shorter life expectancy than smoking, obesity, diabetes or even hypertension. Humans rapidly degenerate into an immuno-suppressive state in an environment of chronic social deprivation. Isolation compromises your immunity and leaves Continue reading
If you missed my Q&A session on mental health, you can catch up here. Continue reading
Hope is the unwillingness to give up on life in spite of raging adversities. It is the resolution to continue to climb the upward-steps of life, even though you can’t see the entire stair-case. Hope is not just psychological, it is also bio-chemical, meaning that it can readapt your cognition, emotions and physiology. Hope affects almost all the hormones/neurotransmitters in your body, including your stress hormones, growth hormones, reproductive hormones, sex hormones, motivation hormones, and so on. In fact, your entire endocrine system is at the mercy of your willingness or unwillingness to hold-on to hope when the goings of Continue reading