NAVIGATING CHAOTIC TIMES
In these difficult times, calmness can be found
With the disruption we are all facing it would be easy to give in to panic and fear. We don’t know how long the restrictions will be in place. We don’t know what the world will be like when we re-emerge. But it will be different.
I believe our job is to stay calm and ensure we are ready to lead and thrive, in the lockdown and beyond it.
Create a calm place to sit within the chaos around you.
As Human Beings we are beautifully equipped with multiple intelligences to help us navigate chaotic times. Let’s just explore some of their functions.
The Head Brain.
The head is ideally equipped to handle facts, figures, analysis and research. Our job is to ensure that we feed it with high quality information to process. Being selective about information sources can assist us to avoid being overwhelmed and to not be swayed by inaccurate, ‘dramatic’ information.
The HPA (Hypothalamus, Pituitary and Adrenal) axis is largely in the head, and fires up the physiology of the stress response in the adrenals. Be aware though that there is also a direct sympathetic response on the body in which the gut also plays a huge part in the stress response.
Our heads are amazing at telling stories (in images and movies) and we need to be aware that those stories are not always true. We can create problems that have not even happened yet and probably never will. To navigate through chaotic times, we need to be deliberate about the stories we are authoring, being conscious of the choice of words we select and writing conclusions we want to read and live. Remember that the body obediently responds to your words as if they were true--if you think chaotically: you create chaos.
The head also helps us to change what we focus on, so mindful practices around focusing on something uplifting, can prevent the brain from filling itself up with horror stories. Research shows that even seeing a picture of nature can have calming effects. So not being able to go out so easily doesn’t prevent us from doing this right now. Create a calm place to sit within the chaos around you.
The Heart Brain.
The heart is the seat of our emotions, where you feel love and joy. While emotions are processed in the head, they begin in the heart. And, it’s a two-way system, what we think can change how we feel and how we feel can change our thinking.
Being aware of both our thinking (in the head) and our feeling (in the heart), that is the key to staying calm in chaos. Consider naming any emotions as you
feel them. And ensure you let any poorquality feelings go, while recalling great feelings over and over to re-experience them.
Our values, i.e. what is important to us, are also held at heart level. Those values then inform our reticular activating system, in the head, what to focus on. It’s like the destination being set on your navigation system. What values are driving your behaviours right now? It is worth reviewing your values, so you are aware of how they have changed with everything that is happening.
How we connect with others also comes from the heart – and that is being challenged right now. We are having to learn new ways to connect and to stay connected. Humans need connection – so staying connected will assist you to stay grounded as things change around you.
Of vital importance is knowing that the heart controls the Autonomic Nervous System, moderating the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic responses. Working with a coach who can guide you in using the heart to bring coherence can be life changing, by preventing unhelpful stress responses, which are natural in uncertain times.
The Gut Brain.
The gut is responsible for your safety and is constantly monitoring your environment, both internally and externally. So, in chaotic times, it is likely to be firing regular alert signals up to your head. Simply asking your gut what it deeply needs can elicit some useful responses here and is a way to check if the alert is new or ongoing. What is your gut aware of? And what does it need? Sometimes, just placing the flat of the palm of your hands on your tummy and reassuring it, can be enough to quieten it, so you can hear the message it is trying to give you. Let it know that it has been heard.
And finally, your sense of core identity sits with the gut brain. Who are you being within the chaos around you? What action can you take to be true to who you are (at your core), knowing it will keep you safe in difficult times? We will have to live with the person we are being now when we come back out of isolation!
Alignment of the Head, Heart and Gut.
We are complex systems and we have multiple centres of intelligence, that will all be on hyper alert in such unprecedented changing times. We know that the three brains work best when they work in alignment with each other. Checking in on each of the three brains, around their own functions and ensuring they are not contributing to the chaos by fighting internally, can help you to navigate through this storm and keep you and your family safe.
Dr Suzanne Henwood is the Director and Lead Coach and Trainer of mBraining4Success. She is also the CEO of The Healthy Workplace and a Master Trainer and Master Coach of mBIT (Multiple Brain Integration Techniques) and can be contacted via her website.