Reasons for not going to your high school reunion

When photos of my 40th high school reunion were posted online, I looked at them and pondered whether I made a mistake in not attending it. Seeing the familiar faces brought back memories, and feelings for me.

My questions about whether or not it was a mistake were soon answered at a conference I attended.  At that conference, one of the presenters, Dr. Merrill Norton, shared a story in illustrating a point he was making about brain chemistry and triggers.

He opened with a declarative “Do not go to high school reunions!” delivered in his thick Georgia accent. There was something about how he said it that gave it a down home, common sense aspect.

He used the story in illustrating how reunions trigger old feelings and how one of his close friends ended up having an affair after attending one. His story answered my question.

His explanation included detailing of the brain chemicals released when those feelings are triggered. It became clear that it’s not just nostalgia. There’s something bigger going on.

When the brain chemicals are released, they begin impacting your body, including your brain. It’s not that you suddenly become stupid.

What happens is that the brain chemicals start turning switches on and off. You’re literally re-wired within a matter of minutes, whether you intended to be or not. Your brain once again transforms into your high school brain.

Think about it. All those old adolescent feelings suddenly get switched on again!

When just seeing pictures of old classmates brought back feelings, I understood. Seeing them in person would trigger even stronger reactions.

I thought I had good self-control, yet those old feelings still got triggered. It was as if my brain was on auto pilot. Those warm feelings I had toward some classmates were coming up again.

Those classmates you had crushes on are easily triggered once more. You find yourself working through those emotions all over again.

This triggering is also why those reunions are potential dangers for both you and your spouse. It’s not so much about self-control as it is about brain chemistry.

You may have good intentions, yet those early memories are easily re-activated. This is one of the dangers of re-connecting with old flames on facebook.

Undoing what started in high school takes some work. This is one of the benefits of the download “Affair Recovery Workshop“. In it, I share ways of creating new circuits in the cheater’s brain along with bypassing some of their defenses.

Affairs are not just a matter of self-control. The real action is not in the bedroom, it’s in their brain.

Undoing the affair means changing their thinking along with getting the wiring in their brain back to where it needs to be. You can start making those changes with the workshop.

Best Regards,

Jeff

 

 

 

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3 Responses

  1. I can see the point in this. Bigger problem is social media. My experience is she friended ex bf from those days. And the spiral began. Interesting part is in reading some of her messages to him, it very much appears to be written by a young teen not a 40 year old woman. Without a doubt, it triggered the old feelings and thought processes. What I can not figure out is if he was the “first love” and she over and over stated she always has and will be in love with, where does that leave me?

  2. You are not alone David in that experience. Exact same situation with my wife after 25 years. Still together but struggling. She still doesn’t get it.

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