Deëscalation tip #23

Deëscalation experts remind us to be aware of the "amygdala hijack," that is, the sudden dominance of the most primitive part of our brain when we feel suddenly threatened. It perhaps allows us to instantly avoid a mortal threat, such as an obviously enraged man suddenly lunging at us with a knife, but it can also shut down our prefrontal cortex, the portion of our brain most recently evolved into a logical, complex analytical human executive area. When we evade and avoid that amygdala hijack we can help others do the same. As always, deëscalating anyone else is accomplished by first deëscalating ourselves.