To start from the basic physiology, it is a brainstem reflex, and depending on which source you are relying on, is mediated by two to three synapses. In other words, it's actually very simple," Lipp said. In other words, the startle reflex is just that -- a reflex, and it just so happens some people's reflex is more sensitive than others.
However, unlike, say, the automatic reflex that occurs when someone taps your knee, the startle response and how sensitive it is can also be affected by your emotional state. Say you are seeing a suspense thriller, think 'Psycho' or the like. You're watching and the person is standing there under the shower, the killer comes with the knife What do you do?
You jump out of your skin. And what of those YouTube videos where the same person like the unfortunate Dad above gets scared again and again, regardless of emotional state? Something as small as a car door slamming or the phone ringing might jolt you out of a state of calm.
Most of the time this is due to imbalances in the nervous system, and an unintegrated startle reflex. Are you or your child extra jumpy? People who startle easily can sometimes feel like the world is an ungrounded and unsafe place even when all is well, and they are perfectly safe. There may be an underlying feeling of tension or anxiety that makes you jump at the slightest noise or touch. For an easily-startled person, surprises are not welcome, and in fact, they often produce a feeling of fear and nervousness.
What's around the next corner? Although the environment the person is in may seem completely safe to the observer, inside the body of the easily startled person, a whole slew of mixed messages is going on.
In this article, we'll discuss the startle reflex, why some people startle more easily than others, and how you can integrate this reflex and calm your central nervous system. Although it may sometimes seem like an overreaction, the startle response is part of your primitive hardwiring.
But why do some people startle more easily than others? Every infant is born with a set of primitive reflexes originating from the central nervous system CNS. These reflexes automatically instruct your muscles to react without conscious awareness and facilitate basic survival in babies into early childhood.
These small movements that are common to most infants help to grow the baby's brain and assist in developing balance, mobility, vision, hearing, speaking, learning, and communicating. Eventually, these primitive reflexes are replaced with voluntary reflexes as the child matures.
This is known as reflex integration. Unfortunately, many people are walking around these days with unintegrated reflexes. Depending on which reflex is unintegrated, different central nervous system functions can be impacted. The startle reflex is typically a result of two reflexes; the Moro reflex and the FPR reflex fear paralysis. A properly developed Moro reflex results in a baby's ability to:. Link the center of the body to the periphery, and vice versa. When the Moro reflex is not properly developed, it can result in:.
Vulnerability and emotional instability fear and phobia. Negative influence of immunity allergies, infections, etc. Irrational behavioral patterns like excessive anxiety, paralyzed will, and timidity. A properly developed FPR reflex results in a baby's ability to:. When the FPR reflex is not properly developed, it can result in:. Cognitive disarray and emotional flooding in stressful situations.
Negative protection and survival reactions leading to opposition or attempts to escape. But there are other conditions that can lead to a hyperarousable state. First of all, the most predictable is caffeine. We are now the caffeine nation and I see young people consuming very high levels of caffeine. When you drink coffee or caffeine-like drinks all the time, people are hyperexcitable.
They jump at smaller things, they're hyperirritable, their brain is irritable, meaning, the same loud noises that don't bother other people seem to bother them. So loud noises, bright lights, the brain is irritable when it's hypercaffeinated. And often it's a little underslept. So that can make the brain hyperirritable. People who are hyperthyroid.
So when your engine is just running too fast, it can make you hyperirritable. You jump or become startled at smaller things. You can't calm yourself as well. So that can be one of the signs of hyperthyroidism. It's been a lot in the newspaper with respect to our soldiers. Men and women coming back from overseas because very loud noises, they saw horrible things, they were traumatized, and now their brain is on high alert all the time. Little things make them jump.
That's the hallmark of PTSD. People don't sleep. They wake up with nightmares, loud noises make them duck and cover, and they're very irritable. Well this can happen outside the battlefield as well.
Women who've been sexually abused, women who've had a traumatic episode on the street, a near-death experience in a car accident. Maybe even a very scary medical episode where they were afraid for their life and they were in the emergency room.
Something really scary had happened, and now they can't calm themselves again.
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