Anxiety

All instinctive behavior concerns survival: feeding, mating, fighting or fleeing. Strong emotions focus and lock our attention ...everything is simplified to a black-or-white choice. It is either safe or it isn't. The amygdala (the primitive mamallian brain in all humans) is so powerful that it can shut off the neo-cortex (higher intelligence) completely. High emotional arousal makes us temporarily stupid.

Most situations we deal with today are not life-and-death situations, which the amygdala is designed to operate under. If a car comes crashing toward us, it is the amygdala that propels us in to darting sideways and escaping injury. Thus, the role of the amygdala is survival. Once the life-threatening situation is averted, the feelings aroused out of fear are dealt with, the amygdala switches off.

Now, if the amygdala is operated under less than life-or-death situations, and the arousal is not dealt with, then the amygdala remains switched on, removing all access to higher intelligence. Thus, in a partially aroused state, we are partially stupid. Anxiety denies full access to the thinking brain.