22 October 2009

fight or flight

so our bodies naturally go into fight/flight when there is danger or high stress. i recently heard that some of us actually live in a constant state of fight/flight and that we have physiological reactions because of this. for example, we stop using our full lung capacity to breath. as infants we breath deeply into our bellies and exhale fully using much more lung capacity. once we begin to experience the stress of life and fight/flight kicks in we eventually stop breathing fully and only use the top portion of our lungs. as we get older this becomes normal and we don't even remember how to do the full belly breathing. as a result toxins can sit in the bottom of our lungs because they are never worked.

what are the mental effects of being locked in fight/flight? if you spend your youth in a negative home environment or being bullied your physical and mental state must adapt to protect you. how do you break free? I can teach myself the deep belly breathing and release the toxins from my lungs. but how do i teach myself to get out of my own head? how do you release the toxins of your past?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

psychotherapy has been scientifically proven to change brain chemistry. Also, being kinder to yourself in your thoughts and not judging yourself or your thoughts can help you to be kinder to others. The only way to get out of you head is to change your brain chemistry. Drugs could do this, but not a successfully or as long term as psychotherapy (talk therapy).