Hijacked: When Emotion Overtakes the Rational Mind

Julie Barris | Crisis Counselor | Therapist-in-Training
7 minutes ago
4 min read

In moments of stress or perceived threat, emotion overtakes the rational mind, pushing us to react before we’ve had time to think. When that happens, our responses are driven by urgency rather than intention, often leaving us wishing we had paused.

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Hijacked: When Emotion Overtakes the Rational Mind

It happens in seconds. A comment lands the wrong way. An email feels loaded with criticism. A partner’s tone shifts just slightly. Suddenly your body is on high alert. Your heart pounds, your stomach tightens, and your thoughts accelerate. Before you can slow yourself down, you’ve said something cutting, withdrawn completely, or pressed “send” on a message you instantly regret.

Later, when calm returns, you replay the moment in disbelief. Why did I react like that? That’s not who I am. But it is you — just a version of you whose emotional brain took control before your rational mind had a chance to respond.

The Brain’s Power Struggle

Inside your brain, two systems are constantly interacting. The amygdala acts as an emotional alarm system, scanning your environment for danger. The prefrontal cortex, located just behind your forehead, handles reasoning, impulse control, and thoughtful decision-making. When you feel safe and steady, these systems collaborate. Emotion informs you, and reason guides you.

But when something feels threatening — whether it’s rejection, embarrassment, criticism, or uncertainty — the amygdala can override the prefrontal cortex in milliseconds. Psychologist Daniel Goleman described this phenomenon as an “amygdala hijack.” In those moments, survival instincts outrun logic, and emotion temporarily takes the wheel.

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Why the Brain Chooses Emotion First

From an evolutionary perspective, this system makes perfect sense. Early humans did not survive by carefully analyzing danger. They survived by reacting quickly. If a predator appeared, there was no time for thoughtful debate — the body had to move immediately.

Although modern life rarely involves physical predators, the brain still reacts intensely to social and psychological threats. A tense conversation, a critical remark, or the fear of being excluded can trigger the same biological alarm system. To your nervous system, social rejection can register as a serious threat. The brain does not always distinguish between a wounded ego and a life-threatening event. It simply responds to perceived danger.

What Emotional Hijacking Feels Like

An emotional hijack is not just a mental experience — it is deeply physical. Your breathing becomes shallow. Your pulse quickens. Your muscles tighten. Your focus narrows, often to the point where alternative perspectives seem invisible.

In that state, you might become defensive, sarcastic, withdrawn, or impulsive. Words spill out faster than reflection. Or you might shut down completely, unable to access what you want to say. Only after the nervous system settles does your rational mind fully re-engage. That’s when clarity — and often regret — sets in.

This pattern can feel confusing. You know you are capable of responding differently. And you are. But only when your brain feels safe enough to think clearly.

The Cost of Living in Reaction Mode

When emotional hijacks become frequent, they can strain relationships and erode self-trust. Partners may begin to anticipate conflict. Colleagues may experience you as reactive. Internally, you may start to label yourself as “too emotional” or “bad under pressure.”

Yet emotion itself is not the problem. Emotion carries valuable information. It signals what matters to you, what feels unjust, what triggers fear, and where your boundaries lie. The issue arises when emotion moves faster than awareness, leaving no room for thoughtful response.

Without intervention, repeated reactivity can create cycles of shame and self-criticism, which ironically increase emotional vulnerability rather than reduce it.

Reclaiming the Rational Brain

Research on emotion regulation, including work by James Gross, suggests that small pauses can dramatically shift outcomes. Slowing your breathing, stepping away briefly, or labeling the emotion you’re experiencing can reduce amygdala activation and bring the prefrontal cortex back online.

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Even something as simple as saying to yourself, “I’m feeling embarrassed,” or “I’m feeling threatened,” creates psychological distance. That distance interrupts the automatic reaction. And in that pause, choice becomes possible.

The goal is not to suppress emotion. Suppression often intensifies it beneath the surface. The goal is integration — allowing emotion to inform you without overpowering you.

Emotion as Information, Not Instruction

Emotion is data. It is your brain’s first draft, not the final decision. Anger may signal that a boundary feels crossed. Anxiety may indicate uncertainty or fear of loss. Sadness may reveal something deeply valued.

But feelings are not commands. Just because you feel anger does not mean you must attack. Just because you feel fear does not mean you must retreat. When emotion and reason work together, responses become aligned with your values rather than driven by urgency.

This integration is not about perfection. It is about awareness and practice.

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The Question That Changes Everything

If your strongest reactions are your brain’s attempt to protect you, what might shift in your relationships, your work, and your sense of self if you learned to pause long enough for your rational mind to sit beside your emotions — instead of being overtaken by them?

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