Why we turn into raging idiots | The Amygdala Hijack explained

I remember a funny amygdala hijack that happened to my father. He was super stressed from work and had just picked me up from karate. He saw that the garbage had not been taken out and got frustrated. He asked me what I had been doing for the last hour that prevented me from taking out the garbage. I looked at him like he was joking. Then I said, I was at karate, you just picked me up from there. That opened his eyes to his own state of mind. He apologized and laughed at himself.

Glad that at this slowed-down point in my life I am able to allow my frontal cortex prime time while greatly reducing my amygdala activity. It makes me a much better person to be around.

Several years ago, a friend told me I was scary because I had this ability to turn into a "psycho bitch" in an instant. I simply could not help explode when triggered by certain issues that mattered to me. With time and work, I learnt what my triggers are and how to react differently to them. The "psycho bitch" still lies within but it only comes out on very rare occasions ☺

This would explain way some old people become less patient with time. It's nice to have this in mind when dealing with these kind of situations, I think it helps me keep calm knowing why the other person got angry so fast. Thank you for the video!

My friend Lily rushed for an important job interview, only to realize she forgot her resume. Panic set in, but a wise stranger's kindness and guidance helped her navigate the crisis and reschedule the interview. Lesson learned: staying calm and seeking support during tough times is key!

I remember that one of the things that triggered my amygdala the most was when my mother-in-law had just moved in with me. Every time she controlled the children's meal or bath schedules, I would literally go crazy and tell her to mind her own business, to look at how she raised her own son, and other things that I really don't remember but regret.

I also have an example of a hijack experience while waiting for my food order at a Burger King. on the far South Side in Chicago, Illinois awhile back. There was a man who was loudly complaining that his food was cold by the time that it was handed to him, and he had paid $10 for everything. The poor employees just stared at him, and he turned to me and barked: "Well, it's MY money!" I shrugged and thought to myself: "First world problem, bro. First. world. problem."

One of my memories from childhood is my dad coming home from his work shifts at 4am and, in the dark, stumbling on legos - such colorful language! The amygdala must be a creative writing pro when it comes to swear words. Thanks for making this video! I’ve been struggling with controlling my own amygdala hijackings & have found some of your Udemy courses helpful. I bet this will help many people!

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. Life's been pretty stressful lately, and I feel I've been lashing out. Not on any people thankfully, but I've definitely broken some things and caused some self harm out of anger. Next time I get that angry, I'm going to try and stop myself by thinking about this. Thank you!

Great how we are reminded that we are all human, although sometimes, we believe we can just manage life and what happens during our journey like robots, feel nothing until the feeling is so real that you burst into a tirade and just start throwing things around because for a split second someone asks for money and you don't have any left to give. Wow loved this video

love your courses! This makes a lot of sense. I just recently let go of some obligations that were contributing to my stress levels and I've seen a major difference in myself since I've been able to do that. As far as a funny story goes, a few weeks ago there was a man that was angry at Burger King because they wouldn't give him back the coupon that he just used to buy his food, because apparently at another Burger King he goes to they give them back to him, but this one did not. He was trying to come up with all sorts of stuff to try and get that coupon back and finally they just started ignoring him and asked for the next guest to come up and order while he stood there awkwardly arguing to the air. I was tempted to go give him $1-2 for his next meal just so he could really grasp the small amount of money he was arguing over, but from the sounds of it, the amygdala hijack wouldn't have been able to let him see that logic.

Thank you so much for this video! Once a friend of ours, the calmest person in the world, got frustrated by a seemingly pointless event during a friends gathering, to the point where he started destroying things and yelling at everyone… we ended up packed in a corner during the crisis, it was like watching Hulk come alive in front of us… the following day, after he had had the time to cool down and sleep, he came back and apologized to all of us. And then he said: ‘please excuse me, I assure you, this only happens to me once every ten years’… what????? We came back home and put the timer on, it’s six years ahead till next armaggedon, unless we he? do something to deactivate whatever the fuse is…

This is a great video and helps explain our behaviour when we feel out of control. It helps us understand how to respond rather than react!

Thanks for your video and contest, Gregory. My amygdala hijack happened when my bike broke down (flat tire). I went to the bike repair shop and asked the guy 'can you fix my bike please?' He paused and gave the bike a look. It drove me crazy that he didn't just say 'yes' at such a simple question. This was a repairshop, right? Then I asked, 'can you attach this luggage carrier as well?' I'd brought a luggage carrier from another bike with me. After slowly looking at the luggage carrier, he said it wouldn't fit. 'Okay,' I said. 'Do you sell a luggage carrier from your shop that does fit?' From my perspective I was doing him a favour, there was more money for him to make by selling me a brand new one. He frowned. I was annoyed. Didn't he want to sell stuff? He seemed so reluctant to take the bike in, but he did. Then he said I should have phoned to make an appointment, and not just show up in his shop. I looked around, I saw nobody in the shop. When he asked my phone number to give me a ring to collect my bike when the repair was done, I said I didn't have a phone number and that I would visit the shop again in a day or two to see if the bike was ready. I lived nearby. That irritated him. Then I flipped. I yelled at him: 'shouldn't you act nice to customers?' I guess he scratched some of my moral emotions. Apparently I did the same with him. I yelled at him, took my bike and left, promising myself to never enter the shop again. Strangely enough there was a slow tension build up, not the sudden road rage when someone cuts you off in traffic, but I lost it completely. I can still feel the rage.

Great video. Thank you for making it so easy to understand.

Thanks, Dr! I will apply as soon as possible!

I was driving through a busy street in London when I came across a car stopped in the middle of the road and I got out to see if I could help. There was a couple inside having a blazing row and in his anger the man had lashed out and broken the key off in the lock, so now they were stuck and the subject of lots of angry motorists trying to get round them. I offered to help them push the car out of the main highway, but the guy was so wired by now that he told me to "** off", so I did and left them to their peril.

Oh my god! I recognize my self all the time. For sure this video was made for me. Other thing. I’m a French Canadian and it’s easy to understand the entire video 🙏

When I lived in Germany with my husband I was overly sensitive, I didn't like living there. I felt too young to accept the changes and adapt. One rainy day I had just washed and ironed my husband's shirts. We had some kind of discussion and it turned into an argument, probably about the hard time I had living there. I cannot recall exactly what triggered me, but my amygdala really hijacked me and... I threw all of my husband's clean and ironed shirts out of the window. I cried afterwards 😪🤣🤣

im so happy there are channels like this that inform us about how humans work. please keep it up😃