The Triune Brain
There is some debate around this; some people believe in the triune or 3-part brain model, while others believe this is too simplistic. For brevity sake, let’s look at the different parts of the triune brain and its respective functions:
• Brain stem: This is often referred to the reptilian or primal part of the brain which is responsible for instincts, survival and autonomic body processes, such as breathing, eating, blood pressure, sleep, and regulating the central nervous system.
• Mid-brain: This is where the limbic system is housed and is often referred to the mammalian or emotional part of the brain. The limbic system is largely responsible for processing emotions and feelings, implicit memory, sensory somatic experiences, and hormonal secretions. The amygdala plays a role in autonomic responses to fear. The hippocampus plays a role in memory.
• Fore-brain: This is where the neocortex is located and is often considered the Homo Sapiens, modern or highly evolved part of the brain. This part is responsible for processing intellectual, language, abstraction, and executive functioning, such as decision-making. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is the time-keeping part of the brain.
The Nervous System
The nervous system has 2 parts - the limbic system and the autonomic nervous system. The limbic system is a portion of the brain that deals with the functions of our emotions, memory formation, and arousal. The limbic system consists of the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdala, and several other structures. The hippocampus helps to regulate our autonomic nervous systems by regulating our breathing, blood pressure, pulse, and arousal in response to emotional circumstances. The amygdala plays a role in autonomic responses to fear and the hippocampus plays a role in memory, such as converting short-term memory into long-term memory.
The autonomic nervous system is composed of 2 opposing parts: the sympathetic nervous system (arousing) and parasympathetic nervous system (calming). When both systems our in sync, we feel
balanced and centered. The sympathetic part our system is highly involved when we face a threat or something dangerous as it enables us to go into “fight or flight” mode. Eventually, the opposing parasympathetic system helps bring our nervous system back to a state of calm and relaxation. For people who feel too much sympathetic arousal, the parasympathetic system can take over causing a person to go into “freeze of collapse” mode, otherwise known as shutdown. In the shutdown mode, the dorsal vagal, parasympathetic system is activated causing a person to dissociate, faint, or become immobile. This survival mechanism is similar to an animal that lies completely still, feigning its death hoping for the predator to go away.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological response to fear, danger, or threat. When we are faced with a threat – a real or perceived threat - or memory that reminds us of former threat, our nervous system swiftly responds through an intricate and interconnected network by going into fight-flight-freeze-or collapse mode. The amygdala gets activated, certain hormones are secreted pouring into the body, and the body is primed to behaviorally respond in either fight-flight-freeze-or collapse mode. This amygdala activation is akin to a smoke detector going off when there is an excess of smoke that is trapped in a home. The alarm system goes off to warn and signal people to get out of a dangerous situation. As in the case with anxiety or trauma, actual smoke or perceived smoke trip the smoke detectors to go off.
Many studies have shown there is a link between what happens in one’s nervous system and those who suffer from anxiety. For instance, when a person is faced with a fear or even a conditioned fear (such as arachnophobia or any other type of phobia), the amygdala is activated, signaling to the person’s body that they are in danger. Neuroscience explains what occurs within the brain and autonomic nervous system. Therapy can help people understand how anxiety impacts 4 areas: cognitions (or thoughts), emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors. To illustrate, a person who has social anxiety (or fear of public speaking) may think others will judge or criticize them, feel insecure and embarrassed, have physical sensations of heart racing, dry mouth, shallow breathing, and behaviorally may pace back-and-forth when speaking. A person who suffers from panic attacks might think they are going crazy, feel overwhelmed and anxious, experience intense and overwhelming physical sensations, and may behaviorally try to escape their environment. All of these examples of anxiety involve the nervous system. Similarly, those who suffer from traumatic stress experience thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and sensations as those with anxiety.
Trauma
Trauma involves a loss of choice in which a person faces a single dangerous event, series of overwhelming threats (or neglect) or when a person recalls threatening memories in which that person feels unsafe or trapped. Not everyone who faces a threat or something dangerous will experience traumatic stress, but for those who do, their autonomic nervous system continues to be in a longer-term state of dysregulation. People who have a traumatic response may find daily life as threatening even if there is no actual or rational threat present. Studies* have shown the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or the time-keeping part of the brain goes offline and shuts down, consequently, the traumatic memory
and internal experience feels like it is perpetually present (*nicamb, National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, Treating Trauma Master Series). People who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) share feeling unsafe, trapped, crippled, or limited.
In addition to feeling anxious, people with traumatic response can also become disembodied and detached from oneself by route of dissociation. When someone dissociates, the dorsal vagal nerve shuts down and immobilizes the body. As people have described (and I surely can attest), it feels like one has been hijacked or assaulted from within.
For me, I found driving on the highway with limited ability to escape as threatening. It didn’t matter if it was a real or perceived because my mind and body responded as though it was a real threat. It is critical that our built in alarm systems in the brain and body respond when faced with real threats so we can find a way to escape them and ultimately survive in the end. But as you may suspect, it’s not so good when our alarm systems are going off constantly when there are no or minimal threats.
Once the threat retreats or we are able to thwart off the threat, for some people, their body discharges the excess energy caused by hormonal secretions that had been initially resourced and ignited to return back to a state of balance and integration. This is a healthy response as people can function well and go back to business as usual with a sense of ease, mobility, curiosity, and even play. However, for some other people, as in the case with me, people who face anxiety, chronic stress, or trauma, this discharge of energy does not occur, but rather the brain and body are stuck in a recycling and dysregulation mode. In these occurrences, people walk through life seeing, feeling, or sensing threats around them as though they are walking in a minefield, which in turn, constantly pulls on those internal alarm systems, secreting and overloading the system with hormones, and maintaining dysregulation.
Free Yourself from The Trap of Anxiety and Trauma
Knowledge and research provides concrete explanations as to what happens to people when faced with anxiety, chronic stress, and trauma. And, research has demonstrated what can help people manage and overcome its impact. Knowledge is power. There are a number of respectable and beneficial treatment options, both traditional and non-traditional. I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Medications, supplements, and a healthy diet are important considerations. Mental health therapy, both top-down and bottom-up approaches are helpful remedies, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Learning how to practice being in the here-and-now with mindfulness, meditation, and grounding techniques is useful. Good sleep and exercise are essential. And, of course, surrounding yourself with healthy, safe people and spending time in nature and spirituality are key. I can personally attest to the power and effectiveness of an integrated approach to escaping the trap of anxiety and trauma. Your options are limitless and there is hope for healing.
I would like to acknowledge the following professionals as my blog post draws from the expertise, work, and writings of Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Stephen Porges, Ph.D., Pat Odgen, Ph.D., Peter Levine, Ph.D., Dan Siegel, MD, Ruth Lanius, MD, Ph.D, Paul Maclean, MD, David Carbonell, Ph.D., C. George Boeree, Ph.D., David Puder, MD, and nicamb, National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, Treating Trauma Master Series.
