The Brains Response To Stress

"Take Control of Stress Before Stress Takes Control of You!"

We can be in one of two states; in a place of balance and integration or in the stress response.  In a place of balance we have easy access to all parts of our brain. We will have a high level of integration between the left and right hemispheres, and a lot of activity in our higher brain levels, the cortex and neo-cortex. In this place we are present time aware, happy, relaxed and very creative and imaginative. We are very open minded and see things as interesting or challenging and as an opportunity. We can easily use our higher levels of thinking for problem solving, creativity, learning and interpretation.

In this place of balance and integration our brain wave activity is almost symmetrical between the left and right hemispheres and the brain wave activity is predominately in the high alpha, low beta range.

 

 

We are told that the left hemisphere has to do with logical thought and processing, and he right with spatial and creative concepts. This is very much an over simplification. For most tasks both hemispheres are called upon to engage. As such it is very important to have a high level of integration between the two hemispheres, and most of the other parts of the brain.

When we go into the stress response we lock down into our limbic system, into defense mode where we can quickly make decisions based on past history , knowledge, experience, and gut instinct. Our limbic system is a more primitive level of brain function, and in this level of processing we are prone to be more re-active, emotional and see things as black or white. We are on alert, and process all incoming information from this state of alert.

When we lock into the stress response, we not only lock into our limbic system, we also lock tightly across into out dominant brain hemisphere, conserving energy and focusing processing. Accordingly if we get locked in the stress response it is not unusual to notice more depression, feelings of anxiety or anger and other such emotional imbalances. Also in this state your memory will be affected, and over time your concentration and focus will decrease as you go into exhaustion. Children can lock into the stress response, and if this happens at an early age, it is the leading cause for problems such as dyslexia, ADD, and ADHD.