Relaxing the Reptilian Brain

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Hi, I've come across some information about the Reptilian Brain which I am interested in.

It's something about how this part of the brain controls, amongst other things, stress and anxiety levels, and if this can be relaxed, then the body will relax. One technique was when feeling really wound up, go and get in your bed and sort of "hide" under the covers. Or be in dark spaces. This is very interesting because I enjoy being in a darkened room too, a quiet space for quiet time.

I read last night that counselling doesn't work, and can make a person feel worse, if this part of the brain isn't addressed. But I'm having trouble finding much information about it on the internet. I don't know what to type in google to find stuff.

Has anyone heard of this?

I have the exact same problem...

Did you read something like this? http://www.myshrink.com/counseling-theory.php?t_id=86

Everything else I found was very similar: descriptions of why that part of the brain does what it does, but no information on what to do about it.

My guess is that therapists would need some VERY specialized training to address this issue.

Hypnosis might be good for this.

My psychiatrist recommended:

1. Mindful meditation: Just practise one of the 5-10 min videos once/day or so.

http://www.phpoma.org/wellnessVideo.html

2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercises:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFwCKKa--18

If you do it daily, you're supposed be able to learn how to relax when faced with emotional/anxious situations. It's argued that the so-called reptilian brain (amygdala) may be hyperactive/hyper-responsive in people with ADS, anxiety, etc. and it leads too much emotional response/anxiety. I used to rely on drugs (benzodiazepines) and that helped but I became tolerant to them. They kinda help a bit but not much generalization, so far. Then, again it might just be placebo but if it works, I don't care.

This video is quite instructive

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYJdekjiAog[/youtube]

Wow. I just watched the video. It was excellent. Thank you so very much for posting it. I believe it is going to help me a lot.