On May 19th, I released an EP called Amygdala Hijack.
Ever experienced fight, flight, freeze, or fawn?
Ever experienced a panic attack? A rush of emotion, distortions and confusion. Ever been under threat of annihilation? Grasping for survival?
The Amygdala Hijack refers to a natural physiological and psychological reaction to threatening or dangerous events. A survival mechanism initiated at signs of threat or times of duress. The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for survival instincts, emotional processing, and decision making. Also playing a large role in the behavior of the narcissist. A narcissist’s drive is typically based on immediate self gratification and the survival of the self, seeking short term rewards out of entitlement. A reversion to the snake in the grass, the lizard brain that dominated our human and evolutionary ancestors.
The amygdala also affects the psychopath in particular, who feels less adrenaline and stimuli when confronted with dangerous or life threatening emergencies. According to a study from Harvard Medical School, “Overall, it appears that psychopathic individuals do ignore fear-related information, but only in the service of focusing on a specific goal. For example, such an inflexible focus on personal goals may underlie the selfcentered, callous traits associated with psychopathy and may leave psychopathic individuals oblivious to the potentially devastating consequences of their behavior.”
Here we have a contrast of information, the psychopath is functioning from a place of self-centered and callous entitlement, based on the amygdala, while simultaneously experiencing less fear from the amygdala in pursuit of said selfish goals.
Narcissism, in my opinion, is the ultimate Amygdala Hijacking of the human mind. A permanent life sentence from the age of 2 years old, an inversion of chemistry due to an overwhelming environment on the infant psyche. What happens when an infant is overwhelmed and neurotic with negative emotion, trapped in a cesspool of anger, bitterness, and betrayal?
The mind of the infant turns the anger onto the ego, forever trapping the narcissist in permanent diagnosis. A life sentence, more or less.
As the narcissist leaves a trail of death, disease, and destruction.
The EP focuses on the unconscious process of making music – the process of letting go and thinking later. The last few months have proven stressful, unsure of the future, and unsure whether my art can provide sustenance to the world and myself. Can you actually make a living doing what you love?
Instead of trying to “write the best banger of the year”, I just write what I feel. Which lately is a lot. And instead of resorting to the familiar dark places, the self loathing, the self attack; the depression, I’ve been focused on writing music and creating art. Rewiring a brain that’s quick to excite. A brain that calls the Amygdala Hijack home. But life on the edge, 24/7, is no way to live. And after the past few years of chaos, I’m ready to retrain how I handle the pressures of feeling overwhelmed, helpless, alone, overstimulated, or depressed. The Amygdala Hijack EP is a reminder to resist the terrorists causing mutiny aboard your ship. To express yourself unforgivingly in the face of chaos and the unknown. To resist the primal pull of the lizard brain.
P.S.
I’ll try and do a better job posting blogs.
Also I wrote this on an empty stomach.
Don’t forget to feed yourself during the creative process.
THE BADBOOB 