Thinking about Therapy?
Take our quiz to see therapists who are a good match for you.
Take our quiz to see therapists who are a good match for you.
Everyone has two sides of their brain. The left side is all logical thinking, and the right is all emotion. The problem is that neither side likes to talk to the other, and they flat out refuse to work together unless forced to. The only time they actually do work together is during the stage of REM sleep where our eyes are moving back and forth and the brain is processing all of our thoughts, emotions, and short term memories into long term memories by expanding and adapting our brain’s neural pathways. Neural pathways are groups of connected thoughts and memories we have stored throughout life, but for more about that, please see our other blogs.
Back to the rivalry. The two sides of our brain dislike each other so much that when one is working, the other refuses. Like our internet source, when one comes on, the other goes off. So when the emotional side of our brain is activated, the logical side shuts down, meaning we lose our ability to think rationally, communicate effectively, problem solve, and more. The only way to get the logical side of the brain working again, you guessed it, turn down the emotions! Don’t we wish we had a remote right about now?
So how do we turn down our emotions? There are numerous ways we can turn down our emotions, but it is up to each individual to determine which ones work best for them. It’s like going into Lowes, we’re not gonna take the entire store. We’re going to pick and choose which tools we prefer and put them in our tool belt. Some tools you already use on a daily basis without thinking about it. Listening to music, taking a hot shower or bubble bath, watching a tv show or movie, talking with a friend, reading a book, going for a walk, or just sitting in a room by ourselves for a few minutes of peace and quiet.
Other tools are new and need to be practiced so that we remember to use them when our emotions are rising. One is called 5,4,3,2,1 and can be done anywhere no matter what is going on. This is where we look around and mentally state (and focus on) five things we see, four things we physically feel around our body (not emotions), three things we hear, two things we smell, and one thing we taste or remember tasting. Now the biggest feedback I hear is that “when I’m emotional I don’t remember what my senses even are let alone what to do with them”. This is completely normal and its ok! As long as we can get some aspect of it, that’s good. Plus, this is where that practice comes in. We have to build up that muscle memory in our brains by practicing this when we are calm or just beginning to feel emotional.
Another one is exercising, especially if you are struggling with anxiety. Exercising gives our body’s excess energy somewhere to go. So if we struggle with feeling on edge, exercising gives that anxious energy an outlet. Going for a walk also helps give us time to cool off, so to speak. Similarly, walking into a different room can provide us a moment of relief, whether from a tense, heated, nerve-wracking, or just plain uncomfortable situation. This goes back to caveman days where everything was out to get us. Back then, the brain automatically scanned the new environment for signs of danger. Fast-forward to today, even though there have been infinite advancements, our brains still perform this scan. Ever walk into a room and forget why you’re there, blame your caveman brain!
This is only a small sample of coping skills available, as there are hundreds of options. To find out more about effective coping skills that can help calm our emotional brain so that our logical brain can function again, please reach out to Life’s Healing Journey, PLLC. Also, please check out our other blogs and videos to learn more about the brain and how we can live better. Thanks for visiting, and I look forward to talking with you soon!
