Pain is not an abstract concept, it is very tangible: you can feel it inside you, affecting your body systems in all kinds of ways. Pain is felt throughout your body via the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPAA) of the endocrine (hormonal) system. When you are negatively affected, such as being humiliated by a colleague, criticized by a manager, a worrying thought pops up, or even simply given to thinking about something challenging, such as giving a difficult speech next week. They bring a sense of shock and threat that is similar to actually experiencing the event. Regardless of the source of the threat, the amygdala, located in the limbic system, sends out an alert that triggers the following responses: 1. A relay station in the middle of your head sends a signal to your brainstem: “Come to your senses!” The brainstem will then release norepinephrine, activating the entire brain. 2. The sympathetic nervous system sends signals to the major organs and muscle groups in your body to prepare them for fight or flight. The hypothalamus, the brain’s chief hormonal system regulator, activates the pituitary gland and signals the adrenal glands to release the “stress hormones” – adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline causes your heart to beat faster (your heart can send more blood) and your warren to dilate (your eyes can see more light). Norepinephrine, on the other hand, allows blood to be delivered to large muscle groups. At the same time, the bronchial tubes in your lungs expand so that you can inhale more oxygen. This way, in a fight, you will fight and flee more quickly. Cortisol will suppress your immune system and reduce the degree of wound inflammation. It also further increases the activity of the amygdala through the brainstem, which in turn boosts the activity of the sympathetic / hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis system, which secretes more cortisol. Cortisol inhibits the activity of the hippocampus (which is normally able to inhibit the amygdala), which is equivalent to taking the brakes off the amygdala, obviously leading to more cortisol secretion. The aroused sympathetic / hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis system further activates the amygdala, allowing this brain to go full throttle and respond quickly to negative and pessimistic messages. At this point, your emotions will also strengthen your brain, mobilizing and coordinating the various resources throughout the brain, ready for action. By this point, the tension has made you completely ready to be terrified (run away immediately), or angry (fight immediately). At this moment, you are like driving a high-speed modified car, the faster the speed, the less control you have over the whole car. Not only that, you will tend to be negative and pessimistic when judging and assessing the intentions of others. Because negative emotions share a common system, the human brain is “attracted” to negative emotions, often at the touch of a button.