…Continued
The second way leads from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex and is a lot slower – but the processing is more detailed. The visual cortex allows us to realize the reef consciously, while the the hippocampus allows us to compare the situation with similar ones in the past. A main role is also played by the prefrontal cortex. It processes different information by integrating it into the whole picture. Fro there, it figures out the best possible behavior.
In this case, the first mechanism is the important one, as it allows you to react – to make the right turn or jump off in order to avoid the reef – as fast as possible.
In the case with my cancer, it was a little different. It was not a clear outer stimulus which created my anxiety. Somewhere in the huge vastness of my mind, some sort of inner storm took place. Maybe it was caused by a small pain in my stomach (that was how I noticed my cancer last year) or by a semiconscious thought of my illness. Hundreds of variables could have been involved in this inner storm, all of which went unnoticed (or should I say suppressed?) until I saw the huge waves pounding on the Portuguese coast in October. Then my PFC finally realized the fear which was rolling towards my inner shore. And luckily, there was still enough time to prepare. The best possible behavior for me was to examine my fear, transfer it into an idea (in this case the image of a wave) and write about it. By implementing my writing style on the fear I was able to control it. And I can almost enjoy the anxiety from the safety of my observational role.
There are no bad waves and no bad emotions
“There are no bad waves, only a poor choice of equipment and a lousy attitude. A wave is universal energy, changing in response to environment and circumstances. Any wave can be ridden if you combine the right tools with body and spirit. Matching the board to the wave lets you flow instead of fight. Attitude is the ultimate piece of equipment. No matter how good the board or how tuned the board, a lousy attitude definitely ruins your day. Surfing is dynamic and constantly changing. Flow with the power and dance with the wave.” -Mickey Muñoz
A similar thing is true for our emotions: There are no bad emotions, only a poor choice of “equipment” and a lousy attitude. What equipment? Well, you do posses the greatest of all tools: The prefrontal cortex (PFC). This brain region is used in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. And it is the region in charge of your emotional response and emotion regulation, therefore you have to “shape” it right in order to deal with your ever-changing emotions.
“The intensity of my emotions has always been inferior to the intensity of my consciousness of them.” – Fernando Pessoa
The PFC can really be compared to a surfboard: It allows us to “stand up” on an emotion and look at it from a different, more distant (but often more thrilling) perspective.
By sitting on it, our surfboard also allows us to see the waves earlier, anticipate them better. A similar thing applies to our emotions. The PFC allows us to anticipate them and judge their quality. We can not only feel our emotions, but we can look at them and – very important – if we do that right, learn from them.
You may think that this “analyzing” takes some of the thrill of just experiencing them away. It does not mean that you cannot “bodysurf” your emotions from time to time – simply “feel” them – but your PFC adds a new form of experiencing to the mix which is genuinely human.
During the course of your life, your predominant feelings are constantly changing. You go through phases of joy, sadness, boredom, despair, happiness… Because of all that, it is important to constantly reshape your PFC in order to match your predominant state of mind. How can you do that? Learn about your feelings, watch them closely, and react in an appropriate way.
The PFC helps to control your emotions. This is shown by experiments with people suffering from arachnophobia (fear of spiders). In their brains, the PFC is very active whenever the animal with the eight legs comes into sight. The amygdala (the home of the fear in the brain) is also firing strongly.
If those patients manage to gain control over their phobia (for example with the help of a behavioral therapy), the scientists do not measure less activity in the amygdala (like you would expect) but the PFC is more active: The phobics have learned to judge the fear-evoking stimulus spider in a new way and evaluate its danger differently. The fear itself is still there, but they can deal with it. Just like your fear of a gnarly wave affects you less when you learn to ride it properly.
An emotion is also a form of energy: you can either be tossed around and held down by it, or you can try to use it actively. You can control it by dealing with it. You can surf it.
