Posted by Dinah on October 15, 2008, at 8:57:32
In reply to Re: So scared » JayJ, posted by Dinah on October 15, 2008, at 8:21:14
> My thought is that early on, before my brother, and not necessarily from events in my dream but possibly from events that sparked my dreams, my amygdala "learned" that vomit was a life threatening event that demanded instant action.
Actually this makes perfect sense.
Whatever the facts were that sparked my dream (and I still doubt it was memories from that early) the dream was showing that in my mind I had linked someone else vomiting, perhaps the sights and smells and sounds, with abandonment.
To a young child, in an evolutionary sense, abandonment *was* a life threatening emergency. A child too young to fend for itself would likely die if abandoned without intervention. After I had linked abandonment and vomit, linking abandonment and death would be totally logical to my amygdala. Since the amygdala is a pretty primitive part of the brain.
It makes me wonder... I do have that aspect of borderline personality disorder. Frantic efforts to avoid real or perceived abandonment. Intense abandonment fears and disproportionate distress at anything perceived as abandonment.
Perhaps that's all linked to an early experience of abandonment, and my amygdala being sensitized to respond that way.
poster:Dinah
thread:857131
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081005/msgs/857545.html