What Happens in Your Brain While Being on a Roller Coaster?
Have you ever wondered why you get a sudden surge of
overwhelming anxiety and fear before and during a ride on rollercoaster? I
recently visited Ratanga Junction, which is a theme park in Cape Town,
South Arica. My friends and I wanted to be kids again and have some fun.
Ratanga Junction - Cape Town, RSA
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At arrival at the theme park, the first ride encountered
was the Slingshot. The slingshot is a high adrenaline ride rated as one of the
most thrilling extreme rides in the world. As explained by their website it is
a ride that combine elements from skydiving and bungie-jumping. The
Slingshot skycoaster enables “flyers” to enjoy the exhilarating sensations
experienced in these two sports. As they say, "All you need are nerves of
steel".
They air you to the top of the launch tower, by strapping flight
suits to you and a partner. With nothing between them and the ground.
The flight suits are connected to flight cables and on pulling their own rip
cord, riders plunge in a 30m free fall at 80 to 90 km/h towards the ground
before the swinging upwards in a 180-degree arc and then straight down again.
Thereafter the ride settles into a slowing swing before being retrieved by the
flight crew.
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The Slingshhot, Ratanga Junction.
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So why would people do this? Cause the Slingshot opens the
skies to everyone, making humans’ dream of “flight” accessible to all.
This would however sound a bit crazy for someone who is afraid of heights and
death...
While I was looking at the people being shot through the air
and considering doing it myself, my heart started pounding, it felt
like I couldn’t breathe, started sweating, and felt nauseous. These are
all symptoms that could lead to a panic attack.
What is a Panic Attack?
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may
include palpitations, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, or a
feeling that something bad is going to happen. The maximum degree of symptoms
occurs within minutes. Typically, they last for about 30 minutes but the
duration can vary from seconds to hours.
So, what happens in your brain in such a situation?
Paul Li, a lecturer of cognitive science at the University
of California, Berkeley, explains:
"When people feel stressed, their sympathetic nervous
system typically revs up, releasing energy and preparing the body for action.
Then the parasympathetic nervous system steps in, and the body stabilizes to a
calmer state. If the parasympathetic nervous system is somehow unable to do its
job, a person will remain fired up and may experience the heightened arousal
characteristic of a panic attack". Dean Mobbs, wrote: “When our defense
mechanisms malfunction, this may result in an over exaggeration of the threat,
leading to increased anxiety and, in extreme cases, panic.” -
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-in-the-brain-when-we-experience/
Researchers have identified certain regions of the brain
that become hyperactive during a panic attack. These regions include the
amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain, and parts of the midbrain that
control a range of functions, including our experience of pain. Activity
in an area of the midbrain called the periaqueductal gray, is a region that
provokes the body’s defensive responses, such as freezing or running.
Adrenaline and Norepinephrine is released by the stress
adrenal gland and is responsible for the fight or flight
response. Adrenaline causes vasoconstriction and results in slightly less
blood flowing to the head which causes dizziness and light-headedness.
Norepinephrine causes you to become more aware, awake,
and focused. These hormones can also cause blood sugar to
be drawn away from the brain and toward the major muscles in your body. These
hormones are released within seconds as a message is received from
the brain that a stressful situation has presented itself.
The next hormone which is released is Cortisol. It
takes a little more time -- minutes, rather than seconds -- for you to feel the
effects of cortisol in the face of stress. When the
amygdala recognizes a threat, it sends a message to the hypothalamus,
which releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH then tells the
pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which tells the
adrenal glands to produce cortisol.
A shot of Adrenaline and Norepinephrine last approximately 10-20
minutes in the body where cortisol can last hours if you stew on a
problem. The body can continuously releases cortisol, and chronic elevated levels
can lead to serious issues. Too much cortisol can suppress the immune system,
increase blood pressure and sugar, decrease libido, produce acne, contribute to
obesity and more (For more info about Epinephrine read - https://www.drugs.com/mtm/epinephrine-injection.html).
That is why you should stop
yourself from thinking about that guy who cut you off in traffic!
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| The Cobra, Ratanga Junction. |
While
I was busy experiencing my symptoms of a possible panic attack. I knew that I must
calm myself, in order to strap myself to a flight suit and I did this
through applying emotional regulation techniques
What is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional self-regulation or regulation of emotion is the
ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of
emotions in a manner, that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible.
This permits spontaneous reactions as well as the ability to delay spontaneous
reactions as needed. It can also be defined as extrinsic and intrinsic
processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional
reactions.
The technique I used was counterconditioning. Counterconditioning is when a response to a particular stimulus is replaced by a new response. This new response is intended to distract you from the stimulus (being pulled up and shot through the air). Systematic desensitization is one technique that falls under the counterconditioning umbrella. To use this technique, you basically learn to use relaxation and other distress tolerance techniques when faced with uncomfortable emotional experiences (e.g., fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, guilt, shame). By practicing this actively and deliberately directly in the face of distressing emotions allows you to reduce the sense of urgency that often accompanies painful emotions (i.e., fight or flight).
I was mindful
during the situation and focused my thoughts on my breathing rhythm
and deliberately calmed my breathing down. I used 4 seconds in - 4 seconds out
technique. By doing this I calmed my heart rate and experienced optimal and
clear thinking. I then focused my thoughts on telling myself things such as
"you are okay", "how save it is", "how beautiful the
view will be" etc. I continued doing these techniques while standing in
the queue, waiting for our turn and being pulled up into the air. In
retrospect, I experienced the flood of adrenaline before I even queued for the
"ride" and stopped the release of any further cortisol levels in my
body. Also by being successful in this activity I stopped my body from
producing any of these hormones during the day on all of the other rides. Which
sucked a bit because then I didn't feel any adrenaline, while my friends were
shouting like crazy.
So next time when you feel a panic attack about to happen, practice your counterconditioning techniques and take control of your mind and body. But don't be too good at it, otherwise you will spoil your fun at a theme park!
For more information on emotional regulation read - http://www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu/perch/resources/what-is-emotion-regulationsinfo-brief.pdf
Written by:
Registered Counsellor
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