What are we to do when we realize that our nervous system is dysregulated? There are some really good, evidence-based strategies that can be very helpful in increasing your capabilities to handle stress as well as others that can provide added cushioning and support to your ANS to set it up for having a “flatter” curve, like the blue one in the diagram. (I always think of Yellow Dog in the old Chevy Chase movie, “Funny Farm” as an extreme example of this.) Our goal is to increase the amount of time that we spend in the MIDDLE as well regulated. We can do this by expanding our ceiling and cushioning our bottom.

There are 3 main parts to the brain: The Limbic (most primitive, the amygdala), the mid brain (attachment and behavioral and emotional regulation), and the Prefrontal Cortex (youngest and most evolved, our executive functioning skills are housed here). The limbic brain is looking for safety and survival and when it feels safe, it’s usually calm and doesn’t interfere with our higher levels of functioning. The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) is what we really want to have in charge, especially in cases like we have right now.

How can we better “train” our guard dog brain?

This next part I must give credit to Goldie Hawn and her book “10 Mindful Minutes.” (https://bookshop.org/books/10-mindful-minutes-giving-our-children-and-ourselves-the-social-and-emotional-skills-to-reduce-st-ress-and-anxiety-for-healthier-happy/9780399537721) In it, she describes in an elegantly simple way the relationship between the PFC and the amygdala like that of the master of the house and a guard dog. A well-trained guard dog will learn to bark at only what are real threats. Further, it will defer to the PFC when the threat is best responded to with the Executive Functioning skills housed therein. It will leave those more primitive fight/flight/freeze/submit responses to when those are actually needed, like in the event of a saber-toothed tiger attack, or like when you’re crossing the street and suddenly realize that there’s an oncoming car that in fact is not yielding to you, the pedestrian. We’ll circle back to this in just a minute and the model offered here will be important to understand as we identify strategies to help with all this stress.

Now then, please turn your attention to the upper part of the middle band in the diagram. You’ll notice 2 thresholds there. The first might be a typical “ceiling” for stress before one goes into “panic” zone in hyperarousal. The 2nd, the higher one, is how this bandwidth can become greater in its capacity to handle stress when one does a few things to complete their Stress Response Cycle (see Nagoski & Nagoski’s lates book on Burnout for more on this https://bookshop.org/books/burnout-the-secret-to-unlocking-the-stress-cycle/9781984818324).

COVID is one of those threats that’s best responded to with our Executive Functioning skills. (think planning and prioritizing, task initiation, flexible thinking, etc. This is a good article to explain: http://www.ldonline.org/article/29122/). The thing is, like I described before, we have this at least initial adrenaline response as the amygdala anticipates surviving the threat. That’s where completing the Stress Response Cycle becomes key. That response is like slamming a Red Bull or 2 in terms of the energy it releases into the body. Back in the day, this boost made it so we could fight the saber-toothed tiger with superhuman strength or flee from it with superhuman speed. When we’d done so successfully and survived, we’d be coming home with dinner and/or to celebrate with our community for having survived, seeking comfort and hopefully a good night’s rest.

According to Nagosi & Nagoski, completing the stress response cycle can be done in one or more of the following ways:

Physical exertion (exercise)
Seeking safety (go for comfort!)
Adequate sleep

Doing these kinds of things shows your limbic system you can handle the stress and it helps clear things out of the way if you will for your PFC to do what it can do best: executive functioning.

Now let’s move to the lower threshold of the middle band. The higher one in this instance could be the typical lower threshold before one enters hypoarousal and the lower one is greater space or cushion that is created when we support that executive functioning and the PFC. But how do we do that? What does that look like?

Have you heard this buzz term of “mindfulness meditation?” You want to think about that like you might think of dog training. It’s essentially physical therapy for your brain and it helps the amygdala get used to the fact that the PFC is who is in charge. When we’re experiencing frequent stressors, one of the things that can happen is the amygdala becomes the default commander in chief of the brain. It takes a lot of effort and energy for the PFC to do what it does, especially if it’s out of shape! Beginning a practice of mindfulness meditation (notice I said “practice” and did not say “perfection…”) is an effective way to help strengthen your PFC and help your amygdala to calm.

If you are suddenly interested in learning more about some of these strategies and the brain, I would recommend getting a hold of Rick Hansen’s book, “Buddha’s Brain” https://bookshop.org/books/buddha-s-brain-the-practical-neuroscience-of-happiness-love-and-wisdom/9781572246959. He does a wonderful job of explaining neuroscience concepts and models for how our brains work and ways to support optimal functioning.

It’s a different world right now and what may have begun at a sprint pace, we are realizing that this will be more of a distance run. You can think of these models and strategies as your guide to switching from sprint to distance running. Pacing ourselves so that we can get through this while preserving as much of imagination and creativity as we can. We especially need that now…

How to Flatten your ANS Curve Part 2