Dr. Aditi Nerurkar

Well, there's two kinds of nervous systems.

First, you have the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

First, you have the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

These are just big scientific words, but we'll break it down.

These are just big scientific words, but we'll break it down.

So your sympathetic nervous system is fight or flight.

So your sympathetic nervous system is fight or flight.

That's like your stress response lives in your sympathetic nervous system.

That's like your stress response lives in your sympathetic nervous system.

It's governed by a part of your brain called the amygdala, which is a small almond-shaped structure deep in your brain.

It's governed by a part of your brain called the amygdala, which is a small almond-shaped structure deep in your brain.

And in scientific terms, we call this your reptilian brain or lizard brain because it's that part of the brain that hasn't evolved the way the other parts of the brain have.

And in scientific terms, we call this your reptilian brain or lizard brain because it's that part of the brain that hasn't evolved the way the other parts of the brain have.

And your amygdala is what powers and drives your stress response.

And your amygdala is what powers and drives your stress response.

And so that's what the fight or flight or sympathetic nervous system does.

And so that's what the fight or flight or sympathetic nervous system does.

The goal is survival and self-preservation.

The goal is survival and self-preservation.

It's about keeping you safe.