The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind

by John Coates

In feedback a thought affects the body, and the changes taking place in the body then feed back on the brain, changing the way it thinks. Take a simple example of the process: when you feel depressed you may decide, in a moment of self-assertion, to pick yourself up and battle on, forcing a smile, straightening your posture, walking more briskly; and in time these changes may actually work, you may end up feeling happier. Here changes in your body—its posture, facial expression, etc.—have fed back on your brain and changed the thoughts you think. Body–brain feedback of this sort can even, under some circumstances, turn into runaway reactions which end in extreme behavior. When you are scared, for example, your heart beats faster, you sweat, hyperventilate and run away from a supposed threat. As you become aware of these symptoms you can start to worry even more, and the stage is set for a full-fledged panic attack.