challenge, stand in the face of fear, and succeed, whatever success means for them. Dr. Relly Nadler (of executive develop- ment firm True North Leadership, Inc.) said, “The power of emotions over- whelms rationality. That is why when we are emotionally upset or stressed, we can’t think straight.” When we’re scared, there are parts of our brain we cannot access. Think about that next time you have someone shaking on the end of your belay rope.
types of memories we have. They’re drawn upon to create an automatic physical response to emotional events that resemble similar situations from our past. Implicit memories are uncon- scious memories that are tied to emo- tional experiences. Explicit memories are facts, details, and recollections that make up our conscious memory. A strong amygdala hijack can impair our working or explicit memory as powerful emotions overwhelm our rationality. The information we so desperately need to confirm or deny the threat is clouded. We can’t think straight.
tidbit about fear is that it’s contagious. The anxious facial expression you make when you are scared triggers an emotional response in those around you as their amygdalae scan for threats. Therefore, the experience your first par - ticipant has on any given element will influence the experience of subsequent participants. This is where the facilitators come in. In Dr. Joseph Ledoux’s book, “The Emo- tional Brain,” he writes, “The amygdala’s emotional memories, as we’ve seen, are indelibly burned into its circuits. The best we can hope to do is to regulate
THE AMYGDALA AND EMOTIONAL THREAT SYSTEM
When we experience a physical sensa- tion (i.e., sight, sound, smell, touch or even taste), our brain crudely processes this information and sends it on two paths. The shorter path sends this infor- mation directly to the amygdala to be scanned for threats. If the amygdala detects a threat, it or- chestrates a quick involuntary response, stopping normal motion, causing us to freeze, and flooding our body with hor - mones. This increases heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating, not to mention anxious facial expressions. Primitively speaking, the amygdala reduces the possibility of attracting the attention of a predator, preparing us to fight or flee and warning those around us of potential danger. This is known as the amygdala hijack. Simultaneously, but at a much slower relative speed, the information traveling the longer path is processed more ful- ly—like waiting for a Polaroid picture to fully develop. The more refined image is then compared to previous emotional situations and input from your con- scious or explicit memory, allowing the amygdala to either confirm the threat or stand down. In other words, our amygdala takes over our bodies until a potential threat can be fully vetted.
When we’re scared, there are parts of our brain we cannot access. Think about that the next time you have someone shaking on the end of your belay rope.
Emotional recall. The hormones re- leased by the fear system may strength- en the memory path in our brains so that we recall emotional experiences easily.
their expression. So how can you, as facilitator of the experience, help your participants get control of the amygdala response?” Don’t be a telemarketer. Early in my career as a facilitator, I adopted a telemarketer’s philosophy: Telemar- keters are trained to not hang up until you say no three times. I applied that attitude to my challenge course work. If a participant got part way up a tree and asked to come down, I would ask if they were sure. If the participant continued to say, “I want to come down,” I would encourage them to reach up just one more staple or rung. I would only let the participant come down if they refused to climb further three times.
This is our opportunity when it comes to growth on a challenge course.
OPPORTUNITY FOR FACILITATION
The challenge course can generate emo- tionally charged situations during which facilitators can create positive expe- riences, with stronger connections to memory. In turn, if we create a negative emotional experience, that too will be strongly connected to our participants’ memory.
IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT MEMORY
Explicit and implicit are the two basic
Fear is contagious. Another interesting
At the time, I thought I was helping par-
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