Triune Brain
- Sep 12, 2022
- 2 min read
Have you ever gotten caught up in a trigger where you know that you are in the thick of it and opening your mouth or continuing to move forward in that moment is probably not the best, but you just feel so ______ (fill in the blank) that it is almost like an unforeseen force is compelling you towards that direction?
You are not alone!! I have been in that space many times before. Please know that many professionals, even the ones that have been in the healing space for 50+ years (jaw drop) still face triggers and have to work through them.
What is the secret that most of us know that the general public is typically not privy to??
The neurobiological processes at play during triggers.
Neurobio-what???
A easier way to remember the processes that take place is through a model called the Triune Brain.
It was initially coined by Paul Maclean, MD who simplified the brain into three different parts:
Reptilian Brain - cerebellum and brainstem - responsible for our survival and maintenance - think all of the autonomic processes that we first came into this world with: heart rate, breathing, etc.
Mammalian Brain - limbic system and subcortical region - responsible for memory formation and emotion.
Human Brain - neocortex - responsible for higher executive functions - think focus, attention, reasoning, and abstract thinking.
Dr. Dan Siegel came up with a handy (no pun intended) model to simplify all of this for us and show us what happens neurobiologically when we are triggered and our “lids” have been “flipped”.
Check out this video for an explanation straight from him:
Once we understand the mechanics of what is happening physiologically, we can see that oftentimes we don’t have full use of our whole mind when fully triggered. This allows us to begin to see how important it is to get some breaths and step away to recenter once we start noticing those signals.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and how this knowledge has impacted your day to day life. Please feel free to come back and leave me a comment and let me know once you’ve been able to sit with it more!
Yours in wellness & healing,
Angela
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