Have you ever been somewhere and an alarm went off?
Maybe it was a smoke alarm or a tornado siren. Suddenly, your body is on high alert, and you wonder if you’re in any real danger. Right before you start to take action, someone lets you know this was a false alarm. Even though our bodies know the threat is over, the adrenaline is still pumping through our veins.
Our brains can often mimic these false alarms we see in our physical world. In the past few issues, we have been talking a lot about understanding our emotions as signals and the role of our sympathetic nervous system. This week, we are taking a closer look at the role our amygdala plays. It’s important to understand that we can experience something today that our amygdala misidentifies as a threat.
Trauma can cause the amygdala to trigger false alarms.
Our Feelings Are Real But Not Always True
An important lesson Debra Fileta highlights in this chapter is that feelings are real but not always true. When Debra was having panic attacks and anxiety years after her miscarriage, she realized there was no present danger, but there was still trauma from her past that needed healing. If we follow our feelings and they are wrong, we could lead ourselves down the wrong path. Hopefully, this helps us see that our feelings can’t always be trusted.
Application
In our application exercise, we took a look at feelings that come up in our lives that may not be true. Personally, I came up with three. Let’s take a closer look at those.
Fear – Just because you feel afraid doesn’t mean there’s something to fear.
Inadequacy – Just because you feel inadequate doesn’t mean you don’t have what it takes.
Overwhelm – Just because you feel overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re not capable.
Lessons Learned
In my case, there is still a lot of healing to do surrounding fear. I believe my body frequently misinterprets present emotions or circumstances as threats from my past. Instead of reacting, I need to look for evidence that helps me differentiate between real vs. false alarms.
What lessons are you learning about emotions?
If you would like to complete this exercise, it is posted in the discussion space within the Overflow Community. Not a member of the community? Tap the button below 👇 to receive an invitation.
