Understanding What’s Really Going On
From alarms and memories to hormones and calm
We talk about mental health as if it lives only in our thoughts or moods. But much of what we feel — anxiety, calm, exhaustion, focus — begins in the brain. Not because something’s “wrong” with it, but because it’s doing its best to keep you safe.
The twist is that your brain evolved for life on the savannah, not life in an inbox. So when you’re overwhelmed by notifications, arguments, or silence, your brain still acts as if you’re facing a lion. Understanding this isn’t about jargon — it’s about seeing why you feel what you feel, and how therapy, rest, and self-care can change the wiring itself.
At a glance
- Stress isn’t just in your mind — it’s your brain and body doing their best to protect you.
- When the alarm (amygdala) fires, memories (hippocampus) blur, and logic (prefrontal cortex) steps aside.
- Therapy and grounding help your brain relearn safety — calming the alarm, restoring balance, and strengthening the pathways that bring perspective back online.
The Brain’s Core Team
The Amygdala – Your Inner Alarm
Buried deep in the limbic system sits the amygdala, a pair of almond-shaped clusters that work like smoke detectors. They constantly scan for danger — physical or emotional — and when they sense risk, they hit the alarm. Heart rate spikes, breathing quickens, adrenaline floods the body.
That’s handy if you’re running from a tiger. Less useful when the “threat” is an email, a silence, or an old memory. Over time, the amygdala can grow jumpy, sounding alarms even when you’re safe. Therapy helps it relearn what calm looks like, teaching the system that not every noise means fire.
The Hippocampus – The Storyteller
Next door to the amygdala is the hippocampus, your memory librarian. It files events and stamps them past so your body can move on. Prolonged stress or trauma clutters its shelves; old memories blur into the present. That’s why echoes of the past can trigger current panic.
Therapy helps the hippocampus tidy up — turning experiences back into stories instead of flashbacks.
The Prefrontal Cortex – The Wise Owl
At the front of the brain, just behind your forehead, sits the prefrontal cortex: planning, logic, empathy, self-control. It’s the voice that says, “Take a breath.” When stress hormones flood the system, the owl flies off — thinking narrows, impulse takes over.
Mindfulness and grounding rebuild the neural pathways that bring the owl back faster.
Together, these three form your survival team: the alarm spots danger, the storyteller checks context, the owl decides what to do. When balance holds, life feels manageable. When stress takes over, the team stops talking to each other.
When the Alarm Won’t Stop Ringing
Once the amygdala fires, it triggers the HPA axis — the link between brain and body (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands). The hypothalamus signals the release of stress hormones:
- Adrenaline acts first, sharpening senses and speeding the heart for quick reaction.
- Cortisol follows, keeping you alert if danger lingers.
Both are useful in bursts. But if stress never fully resolves, cortisol hangs around. That’s when you start to feel drained, foggy, or tense all the time. Your brain isn’t misbehaving — it’s stuck in “keep me alive” mode.
The Neurochemistry of Emotion
If hormones are long-distance couriers, neurotransmitters are instant messages. Their balance shapes mood, motivation, and connection.
- Serotonin stabilises mood, appetite, and sleep. Chronic stress can deplete it, leaving irritability or low mood.
- Dopamine drives motivation and reward. Healthy doses feel satisfying; too much chasing creates the endless “just one more scroll” loop.
- GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) acts as the brain’s brake, calming over-excited circuits.
- Noradrenaline sharpens focus but can heighten anxiety if it runs hot.
- Oxytocin releases through trust, touch, and empathy — a natural buffer that softens the stress response.
When these messengers fall out of sync, emotions follow suit. That’s why psychological distress often feels physical. It is.
Rewiring for Calm
For decades, scientists thought the brain was fixed — wired once and stuck that way. We now know it’s neuroplastic, able to rewire throughout life. Every time you pause, breathe, reflect, or practise a new response, you’re laying fresh neural tracks. At first that path feels strange; repetition turns it into habit.
Therapy uses this principle deliberately. It creates a safe space to revisit difficult emotions, learn they can be survived, and build new associations of safety. Over time, the amygdala quiets, the hippocampus re-files, and the prefrontal cortex takes charge again.
The brain learns what you practise. If you practise survival, it masters fear. If you practise safety, it learns calm.
Your brain believes what you tell it. Keep telling it that trouble is everywhere, and it will stay alert. Teach it that safety exists, and it will start to rest. That’s what recalibration really means — finding your baseline again.
Making Sense, Not Blame
When you freeze, overthink, or react before you can reason, you’re not failing — your brain is doing its job with old data. Understanding that gives you room for compassion. You’re not broken; you’re adaptive.
The goal of therapy isn’t to silence your brain, but to teach it a new language: one where safety, connection, and rest are not luxuries but signals that the danger has passed.
Quick Reference: The Brain & Biochemistry of Stress
| System | What it Does | When Stressed | You Might Notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amygdala | Detects threat | Fires constantly | Racing heart, hyper-alertness |
| Hippocampus | Gives memories context | Blurs past and present | Flashbacks, looping thoughts |
| Prefrontal Cortex | Plans, reasons, empathises | Goes offline | Snapping, zoning out |
| Adrenaline | Rapid response hormone | Overused | Shakiness, restlessness |
| Cortisol | Long-term stress hormone | Lingers | Fatigue, low mood, sleep trouble |
| Serotonin | Mood stabiliser | Depleted | Irritability, sadness |
| Dopamine | Reward motivator | Over-chased | Impulsivity, burnout |
| Oxytocin | Bonding buffer | Lacking | Isolation, disconnection |
A friend not an Enemy
Your brain isn’t your enemy. It’s a storyteller, a protector, and a learner, constantly updating its code. When you understand its signals — the chemistry, the wiring, the rhythm of stress and calm — you see that you were never broken. You were built to adapt.
And every time you breathe, reflect, or rest, your brain quietly says: I’m still learning. I can change.
