Attitude and the Hypothalamus

 

Attitude is the state of being that affects a person’s behavior. Attitude is generally determined by the five senses; seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and speaking. If a person is spiritually orientated then they might say that the spirit needs to be included, but all our perceptions of life still come through the five senses which form the foundation of our thoughts. The spirit does not move in a region devoid of knowledge, i.e. a vacuum.

 

The hypothalamus is a section in the brain which is responsible to produce peptides in accordance with the emotional state of a person. Peptides are like keys which are made to fit into a specific cell receptor thus changing the characteristics of that cell. Let’s take anger as a sample. The five senses receive information which either aligns with or is in opposition to our philosophical and spiritual world view; in this case it produces anger peptides. What happens when a person becomes angry? The heart rate quickens, breathing becomes shallow, muscles tighten, eyes narrow, and the adrenals start pumping out stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and others. The peptides have docked in the cell receptor sites for anger and the effects will stay there as long as the peptides are flowing. An acute burst of anger may not cause long lasting repercussions but chronic bouts of anger are dangerous to a person’s health and may ultimately lead to an early demise. As you have learned in previous blogs, the body struggles to maintain homeostasis which is a balance of peace and harmony with God, others and themselves. The problem arises when the mind develops a negative attitude through the five senses which controls the function of the body through the hypothalamus. As the cells become accustom to the anger peptides, more receptor sites are developed to accommodate the increase in these peptides. As more sites are developed the anger outbursts become more frequent and more violent. As you can see this is a downward spiral that is out of “control” and person will reach the level which is addictive. An addiction is any action which a person cannot control. This type of person becomes known as an angry person and people don’t like to be around them.

 

Attitude is very important in establishing the character of the person you would like those around you to see. A positive attitude attracts those people who share the same positive qualities in their life. A positive attitude is developed by the repeated actions of faith which spin off love, joy, and peace. Here’s to a life of harmony…….