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Let's face it. We live in a drama-addicted society. But if a perpetual state of stress-induced drama continues to be blindly accepted as a state of normalcy, if we continue to scoff, "there's always going to be stress," then the impetus to separate ourselves from its malignancy will be lost.
In the drama addiction cycle, when the body reacts to the fight-or-flight fear of death via the sympathetic nervous system, you are not exercising free will. You are at the mercy of physiological reactions going on inside of your body, and nothing more. Now multiply this reactionary state times every experience in your life that has caused you to feel anxiety, worry, stress, or anger. Is it in the hundreds? Thousands? Is it countless? Well then, where is the free will in that kind of life?
When the parasympathetic mode dominates we are in a calm, peaceful, relaxed state. The sympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is designed to put the body in a stress mode. Let's say you get into an argument on the subject of abortion with someone and her opinion clashes with yours, and as a result, your ego has declared her as the enemy which, in turn, triggers the primitive fight-or-flight/fear-of-death response. This alarming state triggers the body's release of adrenaline, preparing you for any potential threat. But there is no threat. There is only a difference of opinion.
In addition to adrenalin, the locus coeruleus is activated by stress and will secrete norepinephrine (NE) in the brain. Adrenaline and NE then serve to pull sugar from the glycogen storage in your cells, raising blood sugar levels, and resulting in an exhilarating surge of the intoxicating neurotransmitter dopamine. But here's the catch; dopamine cleverly tricks the brain into repeating a similar drama that created the dopamine high in the first place. And thus, the drama addiction cycle continues.
There are many reasons we feel fear, such as fear of being seen in a bad light, fear of being wrong, fear of loss, failure, rejection, being hurt, etc., but ultimately it all stems from the primitive fear of survival. When your behvior is ego-based, and therefore identify part of your existence with your own opinions, something as insignificant as losing an argument to another is perceived as a psychological death. Only through self transcendence can you overcome your primal fears.
In the drama addiction cycle, when the body reacts to the fight-or-flight fear of death via the sympathetic nervous system, you are not exercising free will. You are at the mercy of physiological reactions going on inside of your body, and nothing more. Now multiply this reactionary state times every experience in your life that has caused you to feel anxiety, worry, stress, or anger. Is it in the hundreds? Thousands? Is it countless? Well then, where is the free will in that kind of life?
When the parasympathetic mode dominates we are in a calm, peaceful, relaxed state. The sympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is designed to put the body in a stress mode. Let's say you get into an argument on the subject of abortion with someone and her opinion clashes with yours, and as a result, your ego has declared her as the enemy which, in turn, triggers the primitive fight-or-flight/fear-of-death response. This alarming state triggers the body's release of adrenaline, preparing you for any potential threat. But there is no threat. There is only a difference of opinion.
In addition to adrenalin, the locus coeruleus is activated by stress and will secrete norepinephrine (NE) in the brain. Adrenaline and NE then serve to pull sugar from the glycogen storage in your cells, raising blood sugar levels, and resulting in an exhilarating surge of the intoxicating neurotransmitter dopamine. But here's the catch; dopamine cleverly tricks the brain into repeating a similar drama that created the dopamine high in the first place. And thus, the drama addiction cycle continues.
There are many reasons we feel fear, such as fear of being seen in a bad light, fear of being wrong, fear of loss, failure, rejection, being hurt, etc., but ultimately it all stems from the primitive fear of survival. When your behvior is ego-based, and therefore identify part of your existence with your own opinions, something as insignificant as losing an argument to another is perceived as a psychological death. Only through self transcendence can you overcome your primal fears.
About the Author:
Spiritual Counselor, Jason Lincoln Jeffers is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company with a mission to teach Spiritual Enlightenment to the world. His Spiritual Counseling practice uniquely synthesizes ancient wisdom with self transcendence, holistic wellness coaching, life path astrology, pain-body counseling, heart-based manifestation, and relationship coaching.
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