The reptilian instinct – or the “survival instinct” – doesn’t have much room to express itself in everyday life, or at least we don’t pay attention to it when it does. We interpret its manifestations in various ways, such as “bad feeling”, “a little voice”, anxiety, etc. But we don’t take the time to analyze our emotions. Instead we categorize them as irrational fears that we have conditioned ourselves to ignore, which is not very clever since they do have a purpose.
Should we trust our instincts in everyday life? Here are some answers.
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Does our instinct have room in our civilized society?
The answer is without a doubt positive, but we still have to understand why.
This article is not intended to condemn today’s society, but it is clear that violence is still present in our modern societies, and that not all individuals are “civilized”. This must be taken into account, and unless we live in a utopian society where everyone could live in total harmony with their peers, we must not deny our instinct. It is an essential component when the concept of survival comes into play, which unfortunately is still the case today (and more and more often as violence regains ground).
But concretely, how does this famous reptilian instinct manifest itself in our everyday life?
It is no more and no less than a deep feeling we perceive when we are confronted with a particular situation, a dangerous one, and which makes us act in a certain way. It manifests itself in various ways depending on the individual, sometimes in diametrically opposed directions. Indeed, whereas some people will be stunned, others will rush headlong into a confrontation.
We are not equal in this respect, but this initial reaction is inhibited more or less quickly by reflection, which may or may not contradict our initial impulse.
In the street, this can be expressed, for example, by not avoiding a potential danger, such as a group of suspicious-looking people, although we feel afraid of them. Some may consider this irrational and, worse, laugh at it, relating caution to paranoia. Such individuals are presumably devoid of survival instincts, or they have deeply suppressed it under pressure from family and friends, for fear of appearing paranoid and being excluded from their friends’ group. Hence, even if there is a problem, they don’t change their way, but they will probably be the first to be surprised if something goes wrong.
When you start thinking “oh, you see evil all around” or “don’t worry, it only happens to others” when facing potential danger, then you definitely live in a Care Bear world!
It is no accident that we have an instinct
We often refer to the reptilian instinct as the reptilian brain, which for humans corresponds to a specific area, that is the amygdala which ensures the primary needs related to survival.
Eat, sleep and reproduce are fundamental needs that ensure the continuity of the organism and the survival of the species as a whole.
This is the result of millions of years of evolution, and because these functions are linked to this “reptilian” brain and are intimately related to survival, we therefore refer to a reptilian instinct, which also ensures our survival through the conditioning of our reactions to certain stimuli, namely danger.
This instinct is deeply buried in us and he gradually became sleepy under the influence of civilization. Indeed, we are now considerably less alert compared to our hunter-gatherer ancestors since the danger of death has proportionally disappeared.
However, this vestige of evolution cannot be considered obsolete as long as the notion of danger still hangs over our lives.
This is why it is so important not to ignore punctual warnings, nor to mock them.
Our brain analyses a tremendous amount of information every second and only chooses to bring a small part of it to our consciousness. What we call “intuition” or “instinct” is ultimately just a piece of information processed by the brain which he may or may not have chosen to ignore in the background.
As we are unable to express the sense of alertness that floats on the edge of consciousness, we are often tempted to ignore its presence, which is why we tend to consider it as irrational, precisely because we are still unaware of its underlying causes and effects.
Why not pass that old man in his car who takes a minute out of your journey on that apparently quiet turn?
This individual seems to be aggressive, but this may be due to the fact that he had a bad day at work !
We use plenty of excuses to convince ourselves that danger does not exist. However, that does not make it any less present.
Instead of risking anything, it is usually better to listen to your instinct although it implies that you lose an extra minute on the road, or that you have to cross the road to get to the other pavement. It’s only a simple decision to make, with no particular difficulty other than feeling ridiculous for a second. But who cares when it can make the difference and allow you to avoid dying?
