Posted by noa on March 1, 2003, at 22:49:22
In reply to Re: My literal mind can't grasp this. » noa, posted by Dinah on March 1, 2003, at 15:38:42
Thank you for crediting me for the FAG (Flaming Amygdala Gang). Btw, I should credit "Mapping the Mind" by Rita Carter, because that is where I got the info on how the amygdala is the first responder before the frontal lobe when danger is sensed. The image of the flaming amygdala came to me when I read that. Or the image of the amygdala as pulsing with radioactive-like glow (or neon gas), like some kind of alarm saying, Danger! Danger!
I'll be curious to hear how the session goes.
But btw, it is probably a good thing that you had a flaming amygdala attack right there in his office in response to something between you, and that he was offering questions about thoughts, because, like you said, the thoughts aren't available to you at that moment. I have had similar experiences in my therapist's office, and over time, I have begun to be able to process it. But one key thing is I think my therapist, despite the gentle prodding with cognitive questions, seems to agree with my conceptualization of my amygdala attacks, or at least that this is how I experience it, so he accepts that I may not be able to answer questions then, or describe what I'm feeling. He told me that maybe the goal is to accept that this happens to me this way, and not to put on a second layer of bad feelings on top of that by thinking I SHOULD be able to think thoughts then. Ironically, this patient approach has helped me get better at accessing language to describe the feelings. maybe not instantaneously, but a lot sooner than it used to be.
poster:noa
thread:204842
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/205182.html