concepts should be considered as detached and studied individually. The more I researched, the crazier I felt. I took long breaks from reading the experts to observe people in everyday situations. These anecdotal observations continued to confirm my theory that trust and distrust are experienced and implemented separately.
Executive Brain • Build and sustain trust
• Problem solving • Focus on goals • Ability to socialize
Prefrontal Cortex
Primitive Brain • Distrust
• Survival instinct • Win at all cost • Safety
Amygdala
Over the last few years, significant discoveries have advanced the mainstream understanding about how the brain processes our emotions, decisions, and actions. Scientists have discovered the brain processes trust and distrust from two separate zones. Trust is processed in the prefrontal cortex, while distrust is processed in the amygdala. Both of these areas have significantly different purposes. The prefrontal cortex is where the mind makes decisions based on complex logical thought. It’s where we assemble the puzzle pieces of life into an order that generates a path or conclusion ending in a relationship. The amygdala, on the other hand, is the primitive, fight-flight-or-freeze response part of our brain. It processes feelings instinctively. It is the “Guard Dog” of our mind—more on that in Chapter 2.
How the Brain Processes Trust and Distrust
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