When emotions take over: Understanding the amygdala hijack
Have you ever reacted to something so strongly, so quickly, that you regretted it almost immediately? Maybe you lashed out, burst into tears, or completely shut down before you even knew what was happening.
This powerful emotional override has a name: the amygdala hijack.
What is an amygdala hijack?
The concept of the amygdala hijack was introduced by psychologist Daniel Goleman in his 1995 book Emotional Intelligence. It describes those moments when intense emotions, especially fear, anger, or anxiety, bypass your rational thinking brain and trigger an impulsive response.
Deep within your brain’s limbic system lies the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped structure that acts like your brain’s alarm system. Its job is to quickly detect threats and trigger a survival response: fight, flight, or freeze.
This lightning-fast reaction is very helpful in really dangerous situations, like when you take your hand away from a hot stove or dodge an automobile. However, the amygdala doesn’t always get it right. In modern life, the “threat” might be emotional – like harsh feedback from a teacher, an argument with a friend, or feeling excluded. When the amygdala overreacts to these social or emotional triggers, it can “hijack” your brain, shutting down your calm, thinking side (the prefrontal cortex) and pushing you to act without thinking.
For example, a student receives critical feedback in front of their classmates and suddenly bursts into tears or storms out of the room. This reaction, driven by an amygdala hijack, is an emotional response overriding logical processing.
Understanding the amygdala hijack highlights the importance of emotional regulation and explains why our reactions can sometimes feel uncontrollable in the moment. It also underscores why teaching self-awareness and calming techniques, especially to young people, is so crucial. Particularly when the frontal lobe is not fully developed.
How to cope and prevent an amygdala hijack
Since an amygdala hijack is a fast, emotional reaction, the key to managing it is to recognise it early and engage your thinking brain as quickly as possible.
1. Recognise the signs early: Pay attention to your body and mind. Are you experiencing a sudden surge of anger, panic, or fear? Do you feel physical symptoms like a racing heart, tight chest, or clenched jaw? Do you have an urge to yell, cry, run away, or shut down? Learning to spot these emotional triggers and body signals builds self-awareness and can give you a few extra seconds to pause before reacting.
2. Regain control through breathing: Deep, slow breathing is your secret weapon. It helps signal safety to your brain and calms your nervous system.Box breathing can be a great help. This is where you iInhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Controlled breathing helps bring oxygen back to your rational brain and interrupts the hijack.
3. Say the emotion you are feeling out loud: It can make a huge difference to say out loud (or in your head), “I’m feeling overwhelmed/scared/furious right now.” Labelling the emotion activates your thinking brain (the neocortex), which helps to reduce the intensity of the emotion.
4. Take a break: If possible, physically remove yourself from the triggering situation. Step outside, go for a walk, or simply take a moment before responding – especially if you’re in a conflict or communicating online. Time allows your rational brain to catch up and puts space between the stimulus and your response.
5. Build emotional regulation skills: Practice journaling, mindfulness and grounding techniques regularly, not just when you’re in crisis. The more you know your emotional patterns, the less likely you are to be caught off guard. YourCrew’s journaling and check-in features are great tools to help you build a habit of reflection and self-awareness.
6. Strengthen your support networks: After intense moments, talk to your Crew, a teacher, or a trusted adult. Reflect on what triggered the reaction and how it could be handled differently next time. Connection and support can help us feel safe enough to pause and think instead of reacting on instinct.
How YourCrew can help you deal with it
YourCrew is designed to help you recognise, respond to, and recover from moments of emotional overwhelm before they spiral.
You can spot the signs by using the mood tracker Check-In tool when you feel your body reacting (like a racing heart or tight chest); simply choosing the overwhelmed emoji helps your thinking brain regain control.
The A-Z Help Guide covers a range of topics to help empower you with knowledge and the right resources to help your body feel safe again and prevent the emotional hijack from getting worse. The YourCrew Journal allows space for you to write about what triggered you, how you responded, and what you might try next time – it’s all about learning your patterns without judgment.
Having your support network already set up in YourCrew also ensures you have the right people to reach out to if things feel big or confusing, making it easier to ask for help when things feel complex. You don’t have to wait for a crisis, using YourCrew regularly to check-in with how you’re feeling, build your self-awareness, and reflect on small challenges allows you to practice ahead of time. The more you practice, the better you get at not letting your emotions take over.
Feeling big emotions is normal. Learning how to respond, instead of react, is a skill and YourCrew is here to help you better understand and respond to big emotions.