To add to the emotional memories, they are imprinted in vivid detail.
By two neurochemicals that come from a nerve
that runs from the adrenal glands (above the kidneys) to the brain.
These neurochemicals are hormones
called epinephrine and noreprinephrine.
What they do is carry signals to the heart and to the brain.
And they activate receptors on the vagus nerve.
The main site in the brain where these signals go is the amygdala.
"They strengthen activate neurons within the amygdala
to signal other brain regions to strengthen memory for what is happening."
"The more intense the amygdala arousal, the stronger the imprint."
So we tend to remember intense feelings,
the more intense they are, the more we remember them.
The book says that we have two memory systems.
One for regular facts and one for memories that are emotionally charged.
It served us back when we were the hunted and the hunters,
but it doesn't serve us all that well when it comes to every day life.
When a signal goes to the amygdala, it scans what is happening
and compares it with what happened in the past.
When it finds a 'match' it acts before there's full confirmation.
It causes us to react in ways that were imprinted a long time ago.
I've noticed this with my emotional reactions to certain things.
When I tend to feel a certain way that is associated with something
that I felt a long time ago, I tend to have a similar reaction
to what I had a long time ago.
Because those emotions are imprinted. They are emotional memories.
We are reacting to responses we've already learned.
Responses can be changed, though. We can learn new responses.
Reactions that are triggered can repeat, but they don't have to.
It's an automatic thing. Things don't have to be automatic.
It's just hard to turn the autopilot off.
"Along with the emotionally charged memories
that have the power to trigger this crisis response,
can come equally outdated ways of responding to it."
Furthermore, the amygdala is pretty much fully formed at birth
and matures very quickly in a toddler's brain.
The interactions we have as very young children
create the blueprints for emotional life.
That we still use as adults.
Until we become aware of this and train our brain
to create new emotional blueprints.
Since the blueprints we have were formed when we were very young,
"we did not have the words for comprehending events."
"We may have the chaotic feelings,
but not the words for the memories that formed the feelings."
What's more is that I think that we identify with these feelings a lot.
Like we somehow think, on some level,
that our feelings say something about us.
And we think the same about our thoughts.
I used to judge myself a lot based on the quality of my thoughts and feelings.
I know that sounds weird, but I kept thinking that my thoughts and feelings
said something about me or about my personality.
They don't, but I attached them to myself somehow.
"I think this way, I must be like this."
"I feel this way, I must be like this."
I was never this way or that way based on how I thought or felt.
It only seemed that way. I don't know where that idea came from.
There are other such ideas that have nothing to do with who I am.
I just wanted to throw that out there because it fit with today
and it fit with my last emotional reaction.
By two neurochemicals that come from a nerve
that runs from the adrenal glands (above the kidneys) to the brain.
These neurochemicals are hormones
called epinephrine and noreprinephrine.
What they do is carry signals to the heart and to the brain.
And they activate receptors on the vagus nerve.
The main site in the brain where these signals go is the amygdala.
"They strengthen activate neurons within the amygdala
to signal other brain regions to strengthen memory for what is happening."
"The more intense the amygdala arousal, the stronger the imprint."
So we tend to remember intense feelings,
the more intense they are, the more we remember them.
The book says that we have two memory systems.
One for regular facts and one for memories that are emotionally charged.
It served us back when we were the hunted and the hunters,
but it doesn't serve us all that well when it comes to every day life.
When a signal goes to the amygdala, it scans what is happening
and compares it with what happened in the past.
When it finds a 'match' it acts before there's full confirmation.
It causes us to react in ways that were imprinted a long time ago.
I've noticed this with my emotional reactions to certain things.
When I tend to feel a certain way that is associated with something
that I felt a long time ago, I tend to have a similar reaction
to what I had a long time ago.
Because those emotions are imprinted. They are emotional memories.
We are reacting to responses we've already learned.
Responses can be changed, though. We can learn new responses.
Reactions that are triggered can repeat, but they don't have to.
It's an automatic thing. Things don't have to be automatic.
It's just hard to turn the autopilot off.
"Along with the emotionally charged memories
that have the power to trigger this crisis response,
can come equally outdated ways of responding to it."
Furthermore, the amygdala is pretty much fully formed at birth
and matures very quickly in a toddler's brain.
The interactions we have as very young children
create the blueprints for emotional life.
That we still use as adults.
Until we become aware of this and train our brain
to create new emotional blueprints.
Since the blueprints we have were formed when we were very young,
"we did not have the words for comprehending events."
"We may have the chaotic feelings,
but not the words for the memories that formed the feelings."
What's more is that I think that we identify with these feelings a lot.
Like we somehow think, on some level,
that our feelings say something about us.
And we think the same about our thoughts.
I used to judge myself a lot based on the quality of my thoughts and feelings.
I know that sounds weird, but I kept thinking that my thoughts and feelings
said something about me or about my personality.
They don't, but I attached them to myself somehow.
"I think this way, I must be like this."
"I feel this way, I must be like this."
I was never this way or that way based on how I thought or felt.
It only seemed that way. I don't know where that idea came from.
There are other such ideas that have nothing to do with who I am.
I just wanted to throw that out there because it fit with today
and it fit with my last emotional reaction.
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