The hippocampus is a small, seahorse-shaped part deep inside your brain. Its job isn’t just to store memories, it also tags them with emotion. Think of it like bookmarking moments, letting your brain know whether a memory felt safe, threatening, or important.

How Emotional Tagging Works

When something happens, your brain doesn’t just record the facts. It notes how it made you feel. These emotional tags help your brain decide:

What to remember
What to pay attention to in the future
How to react if something similar happens again

A happy memory can make you feel safe and confident later on. But a memory tagged with fear or stress can prime your brain to stay alert, even long after the moment has passed.

The Primitive Brain’s Role in Emotional Tagging

Your primitive brain, the part wired for survival, is always on the lookout for danger. When it senses a threat, it triggers a rush of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

This chemical flood affects your hippocampus, often strengthening the emotional tag on memories. That’s why some experiences feel much more intense or negative than they might actually be.

When the Primitive Brain Is Always on Alert

If your primitive brain is stuck in “high alert” mode, even everyday stresses can get tagged with negative emotion. Things like:

Arguments
Criticism
Social anxiety
Work pressure

…can leave you reliving stress over and over, keeping you trapped in a loop of overwhelm.

Why This Matters for Healing

Understanding how your hippocampus tags memories shows why it’s so important to help your nervous system feel safe.

When your brain feels safe, it can:

Re-label memories with less intense emotions
Form new, positive memories to balance old ones
Give you space to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically

How to Support Your Hippocampus and Calm Your Brain

There are gentle, practical ways to help your brain reset:

Practice deep, slow breathing to ease stress hormones
Spend time in calming environments, like nature
Use Solution Focused Hypnotherapy to access relaxed, reflective states
Notice and savour small positive moments to build new, safe emotional tags
Prioritise restful sleep, especially REM sleep, when emotional processing happens

These practices help your brain learn a simple message: You’re safe. You can relax now.

Your Brain Can Learn to Feel Safe Again

The emotional tags on your memories aren’t set in stone. With patience, kindness, and support, your brain can begin to soften old patterns, helping you feel calmer, more grounded, and more in control.

Trancespire Hypnotherapy is based in Llangorse, near Brecon, Hay-On-Wye and Crickhowell - and available online UK-wide.
If you’re ready to gently reframe your memories and calm your nervous system, I’d love to help.

👉 Book a free initial consultation

The Hippocampus: How Your Brain Tags Memories with Emotion