I want to take a simplistic, layman's view of our brains.

Our brains are complex structures within which three main components may be identified the reptilian brain; the emotional brain and the logical/rational brain.

When any one of these parts of our brain is highly stimulated it makes it impossible for the other areas to function. Effectively, this means that when we are faced with a life threatening situation our reptilian brain assesses the danger and in a fraction of a second reacts to keep us safe.

This high state of reptilian brain arousal effectively shuts down the emotional and logical brain the reaction is immediate, fuelled by the release of a cocktail of hormones into our systems.

In such a situation if our emotional brains were to be allowed to get involved in the decision making process valuable time would be spent trying to match the current circumstances to past experiences and whilst this process is fast, it is not fast enough when we are about to be flattened by a 10 ton truck.

Worse still would be the interference of our logical brain which would want to evaluate and research options and alternatives before coming to a decision.

When we are in a high state of emotional arousal, once again, the other parts of our brain are hindered. How often have we made emotional decisions only to regret them later? It has been said that emotions make us stupid and there is some truth in this statement in that our rational intelligence cannot function when we are in a state of emotional arousal.

The moral to this tale? Be aware of your state of emotional arousal when making decisions. You may not be making the right one!