Occasionally, we find ourselves losing our temper, in the midst of a storm, and when this happens, we realize that our reaction was somewhat disproportionate, regretting our performance and asking Leaving us as it may be possible that in a matter of seconds we become so irrational. What happens to us right now?

When situations get out of hand and we seem to explode, what happens to us is that we are victims of a sum of psychological and physiological reactions, all known as The emotional kidnapping process . To find out why this happens at certain times, we will explain how our brain works.

HOW IS THE EMOTIONAL SEQUESTRATION PRODUCED?

When we suffer an emotional kidnapping, we find ourselves reacting automatically to stimuli treated by the emotional brain. Yes, you have read well, emotional brain. It is not that there are two brains, but over time, numerous investigations have affirmed that our brain is formed by a more emotional part (limbic system) and a more rational part or thinking (neocortex). What happens is that the emotional emotional brain responds faster, although generally its responses are more imprecise because they have not gone through the analysis of the rational.

But what structure is the one that examines our environment? The answer is the amygdala, an almond-shaped dough, located in the limbic system that is responsible for processing and storing emotional reactions.

Thus, the tonsil when it is carrying out its functions of examining the environment in which we find ourselves and begins to wonder, will this hurt me ?, can it make me suffer ?, have I feared it forever? look for their answers, and if these are affirmative, our nervous system gives the alarm signal in our body, delaying the most irrelevant functions and executing those that allow to defend the threat. They will begin to secrete the hormones necessary to flee or fight, the pulse will be accelerated, the visual field will be reduced, the circulation will be altered and also the thought to concentrate on the danger.

Thus, the neocortex that is the thinking brain dodges and we become for a much more instinctive moments. The amygdala declares a state of war with which we become animals fighting for our emotional survival, which we can match with physical survival.

WHY IS THE EMOTIONAL SEQUESTRATION PRODUCED?

Perhaps one of its main reasons is evolutionary in nature, referring to survival . Our ancestors suffered these emotional kidnappings when, for example, they met the enemy or animals, causing them to flee or attack to eliminate the sense of danger.

But at present, this process has become a bit outdated, and produces not so desired results in us. Since in human relationships, an emotion how much faster, more inaccurate and enough becomes. Our emotional part prepares us for automatic responses that previously had the characteristic of being vital, but that now do not turn out to be always so positive. We can experience this in couple discussions with a jealousy attack for example, or in discussions with our friends or family.

In these situations, when the emotional kidnapping is taking place, all our attention is directed to give an answer to the emotion, preventing us from carrying out processes of rationalization of the situation that we live, and it is perhaps for this reason that our responses are not They correspond to what we expect from us, once the storm has passed, we are able to analyze it.

HOW CAN WE CONTROL IT?

Perhaps the key is to know that before the emotional kidnapping there is an emotional overflow, and this is what we have to detect and then analyze, so as not to give the tonsil enough reasons to carry out its kidnapping of the rational part, and avoid the negative effects in our relationships with others.

For this, it is convenient that we discover the symptoms that we present when we are agitated, that is, that we stop to observe ourselves when things are not as we expect, as we like them or as we had imagined. Find out if we have sweating, overheating, heart rate acceleration. Then, after identifying them, you have to give them names because that is how we begin with the process of rationalization, avoiding in some way that the spontaneous response is carried out. After this, we will have to look for some mechanism to escape our emotion, so that our excitement goes down and finally, try to analyze what has led us to experience emotional abduction, preparing for future situations.

"Things do not change, we change" (Henry David Thoreau)

Emotional abduction

Source: http://lamenteesmaravillosa.com/el-secuestro-emocional