Sam Daghash🔸 Founder – New Mind, New Mind · Founder of New Mind | RSCI Master Coach & Practitioner for High Performers & Leaders | Mind Reconditioning Expert | Wellness Entrepreneur | Host of New Mind Podcast

Amygdala Hijack: Understanding Brain's Survival Mode #shorts

8 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this short explanatory video, the speaker describes the amygdala as a small brain region whose activation shifts the nervous system into a "survival mode." This triggers a rise in adrenaline and cortisol, making the body hyper‑alert. If the state isn’t consciously changed, the person remains stuck in heightened alertness, which influences thinking by promoting reactive, emotional, and "survival"‑oriented cognition. Psychologists label this response the "amygdala hijack," a condition where individuals become more reactive, nervous, and emotional.

Chapters

what happens in the brain, there's a small part of the brain called the amygdala, and this small part of the brain activates. And when it activates, it's like the nervous system shifts into what I call the survival mode, right? People know it as a survival mode. And what happens in literally our adrenaline rises, the cortisol rises, and the body becomes hyper alert. And sometimes it's important that we change that. Because if we don't change that, we stay stuck in those brainwaves. We stay stuck in that sense of alertness, right? And of course, that affects a lot of things, including our thinking. You know, it starts to, you go survival thinking. Psychologists actually call this the amygdala hijack. And it's a state. And people become more reactive, become on their nerves, they become more emotional, you know?