Ken Collins - Limbic System Fight or Flight Response - Dream Catchers Les Paul

The biology of brain injury needs to be better understood if we are going to effectively treat brain injury and the consequences of the fight or flight response.  Learning about the Sympathetic Nervous System is important because the limbic system is where the fight or flight response and many other problems people with brain injuries are centered.  I have found that long walks (over an hour) help me deal with the consequences of fight or flight and improve my memory and processing issues.  The key seems to get the blood flowing and oxygen to my brain.   Sometimes just sitting and thinking about problems only makes them worse because once the fight or flight gets triggered it prolongs my body’s ability to regulate the hormones that are part of the fight or flight response.   Bad memories play a role in this too because they play a role in triggering fight or flight response.   When we set around hoping things will get better it only gets worse because our muscles remain tense and the chemicals that should be going to out brain are diverted to our muscles.  The bad memories and problems continue just like a dog chasing its tail.  Fight or flight remains in place because of this - we are victims to its consequences.  Medications are not the answer because they don't deal with what causes the fight or flight response.  Exercise and mindfulness-based stress reduction work better than meds because exercise and mindfulness-based stress reduction controls the fight or flight response - meds only treat the symptoms.  Becoming more pro-active in our recovery process instead of reacting to the consequences of our brain injury is important.  Finding a sense of purpose and meaning is the key to recovery and will lay the foundation for building a new life after brain injury.   Having a sense of purpose will also make it easier to get out of bed in the morning.