I feel therefore I am.

"I must be the best worrier in the world.  Nothing I worry about ever happens."  Will Rogers

I read a lot about worry and anxiety.  I do this for two reasons, 1. I enjoy reading about the brain and 2. I have issues with both of them.

I could get rather technical, but I won't for two reasons 1. You probably aren't too interested in the technical inter-workings of the brain and 2. I would have to Google every sentence because I haven't memorized the technical details.

So what I'm going to write is just from my head (so to speak).  The human brain, it has been said, is the most complex organism in the known universe. Nothing comes close to the incredible capacity of the brain. No amount of research and study, for example, has cracked the surface of the brain-mind argument.  Are the brain and mind the same thing?  Are they separate?  Does one control the other? Are we born as Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell and others have suggested with "archetypes", the "collective unconscious"  prerecorded in our brain and nervous systems?  And are we to believe that these have been handed down for millions of years from our oldest ancestors? And are a part of our dreams and imaginations?

I'm just getting started.

All of the chemical and electrical wiring of the human brain basically control three things, the automatic functions that keep us alive such as heart beat and breathing, our thinking ability (decision making) and our emotions. Memory is for another lesson.

Our limbic system, which is a part of the oldest reptilian brain, and includes the amygdala and the insula, primarily control our emotions.  Our brain processes our emotions before it processes our cognitive functions.  In other words we feel before we think.  And unless we learn to override our feeling with our thinking, our emotions control us.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a complex and effective method of intentionally training the emotions to react to our thinking instead of giving in to the brain's pre-wired ability to feel first.  If you struggle with worry and anxiety there is little hope of getting better without conscious effort.

I have often thought that movie animations are primarily for the adults who bring the kids.  How are children able to appreciate the subtle puns and innuendos that are scattered throughout  the movie? I think Pixar's Inside/Out is one of the most brilliant movies ever produced.  If you've seen it you know that Riley's five emotions actually exist. They all work together to help her function. To help her be Riley. I thought the movie was brilliant before I read this morning, "The insula has an important role in the experience of basic emotions including anger, fear, disgust, joy and sadness." liquisearch

My intention this morning is not to tell you what to do about your worry and anxiety. I'll leave that to the professionals.  My intention is to make you aware of what the problem is and where the problem lies.  There's nothing wrong with you.  Fear, worry and anxiety are  as natural as falling off a log. You can't help being on the log. The trick is to improve your ability to balance.

So the next time you express your concern about something to someone and he says, "It's all in your head."  Just say, "Yeah, I already knew that."