A Hijacked Brain

What we see here is the fight or flight response. One dog lunges at another. The heart races and there is an instinctual, visceral reaction to threat. Catecholamines flood the body. Blood moves from the extremities to the vital organs to support them in case they are threatened. Hair goes up on the back of the neck.

This is exactly what happens when we subject ourselves to people who are continually ranting and raving about things: "I can't believe how terrible it was when so-and-so did what she did to me." The offended party becomes more agitated in the telling until he is worked up to a lather.

The sad thing is that our brains do not know the difference between us being charged by a mad dog, and having to hear someone rant. For me, a rant is as bad as being kicked. I find it intolerable to hear people go on and on in righteous indignation about all the wrongs that have been committed against them. My heart races, my stomach clenches, and my neck goes stiff. I begin to think illogically (if it persists too long), and all I want to do is to run away as quickly as possible. Yes, fight or flight hits and our bodies hijack our brains. We become susceptible to making poor judgment calls, or becoming so physiologically aroused that we can't think straight.

I'll take it one step further. Our bodies don't know the difference between a lion charging at us, and the steady diet of self-deprecatory comments we make to ourselves. It is only a matter of degrees, but we still get a good dose of stress hormones released into our blood streams. People who are highly stressed or anxious have higher cortisol levels than more laid back people. It is because our bodies are made to react, not to think. And our brains, made to think, often don't.

There are some people I avoid like the plague because it feels as though I'm taking a stress bath when I'm around them. They are mean spirited to themselves or others, say hostile things, and the tone of their voice gives me a physical response. It probably happens to you too, you're just not attuned to it.
People who get worked up into a lather over things that happened long ago, or who make continual emphatic points, or become adversarial quickly--these are the people who are more likely to die by sudden cardiac death. Why? Because they give themselves frequent baths of stress hormones and that affects the ability of their heart to pump, their blood pressure, and their overall health.
So when one person I know goes off on a rant about what horrible things she experienced decades ago, the only way I can keep my own body from escalating in response, is to hum and do relaxing deep breaths to keep my body calm. It is one way to stay relaxed in the face of barely contained, agitated hostility.

It also helps me understand why Paul wrote,
"...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philipians 4:7-9). There is good sense in the words of the Good Book, isn't there?