Borderline Personality Disorder

Overactive Midbrain and Stress Tolerance

From Nora Gedgaudas’s latest book “Rethinking Fatigue”:

CHRONIC MIDBRAIN OVERACTIVATION

When the reticular activating system is stimulated, it fires off in different directions, and at times particularly strong emotional reactions to events can become stuck in a self-perpetuating feedback loop. In other words, particularly pronounced reactions to traumatic or stressful events can cause the brain to become hardwired for stress. This can also lead to long-term anxiety-related issues. The overactivation of this area of the brain, say by a particularly upsetting, traumatizing event, can lead to a chronically exaggerated stress response. A person may become hypervigilant and have an exaggerated startle response or possibly other symptoms similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He or she may have an overactive mind that won’t shut off and this may even lead to what are called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

The midbrain’s immediate response to what it perceives as a life-threatening circumstance is to release your brain’s version of adrenaline, or norepinephrine. The residual hypervigilant effect from a traumatic event following the initial stressor can also be a result of chronically excess cortisol. Some people may see something that is upsetting to them and let go of that concern quickly once the threat has passed. Those with an overactivated midbrain, however, may hang on to this residual perceived stress for days or much longer.

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