What do young people want?

Monday 21st July 2008 

Here at Bridge Builders, we believe that every person has a voice, and their opinion is valid. On our regular Monday night meeting this week, we decided to give the young people an opportunity to let their voice be heard. In round table dicussions, each young person made their valuable contribution about the topics and issues that young people face today. The information was then written down and collated into catagories.

The information gathered is an important tool in understanding how young people see their world and their perceptions and opinions about the topics and issues that they face.  In knowing this information, it assists us in providing a proactive response, by teaching them the necessary skills they need to overcome the challenges of life, and by providing appropriate support when needed.

We would like to thank our team for their contribution, their imput is highly valued and much appreciated.

“Amygdala”

This is a word that you may not have heard of before. The Amygdala is a small group of neurons in your brain, located at the back of your head and is about the size of an almond. It’s primary function is the processing of memory and emotional reactions. Other functions include sending impulses to help activate the sympathetic nervous system and facial expressions of fear. 

You may be wondering what a science lesson on the Amygdala has to do with a Bridge Builders asset. Well, as I mentioned before, its primary role is processing memory and emotional reactions. It ‘remembers’ when you are scared as a child and stores these situations as ‘triggers’ of fear later on in life. The more situations of fear, the more ‘triggers’ it stores and the less situations of fear, the less ‘triggers’ it stores. 

For the asset, we taught our team on the function of the Amygdala. And how we can either allow the Amygdala to control our emotional reactions, or to deliberately choose to “take every thought captive” and not let fear stop us from achieving our dreams! 

What condition is your Amygdala in? Does fear stop you from achieving your dreams? 

I think it’s time to take control of your Amygdala, don’t you?