Taming the Amygdala

Describe the role of the amygdala in maintaining anxiety disorders for purposes of client psychoeducation. 

• Explain amygdala as an alarm system that responds to danger. 
• Explain amygdala as storing memories of emotional importance.
• Describe responses of amygdala as not always appropriate to 21st century. 

Explain the language of the amygdala. 

• Explain that the amygdala communicates through bodily responses. 
• Explain that the amygdala does not learn from books or lectures. 
• Explain that the amygdala learns from experience. 
• Describe the association-based learning process (i.e., classical conditioning) 

Explain how clients who know the language of the amygdala have improved engagement and mindfulness.  

• Recognition of ways to change amygdala responding is empowering. 
• Recognition of the purpose of symptoms such as increased heart rate, muscle tension allow one to observe and interpret these responses differently. 
• Attributing anxiety responses to amygdala helps client to dissociate from and take the role of an observer of these responses. 

Use neurologically informed strategies such as exposure, relaxation, exercise, and sleep interventions to produce changes in the amygdala. 

• Present exposure is a way of teaching the amygdala new associations and responses. 
• Teach relaxation strategies that reduce amygdala in minutes. 
• Identify the ability of regular exercise and adequate sleep to produce lasting changes in amygdala activation. 

Use neurologically informed strategies such as cognitive restructuring, cognitive defusion, and mindfulness techniques to reduce cognitions that ignite the amygdala activation that produces anxious responding. 

• Teach clients that the amygdala responds to cortex activity that presents threatening thoughts, images, or worries. 
• Teach clients to recognize worries and anticipatory thoughts as simply thoughts and not as accurate predictors of the future.     
• Train clients to observe and be curious about their anxiety responses rather than get caught up in the experience of anxiety.