The Fight or Flight System
You've probably heard me talk about deep breathing a TON. Why? What is so miraculous about the breath?
To get a better understanding of why deep breathing can be so helpful, we first have to talk about how the body's nervous system works.
There are 2 systems:
1) The fight or flight response (aka the sympathetic nervous system) which responds to threats in our environment.
2) The rest and digest response (aka the parasympathetic nervous system) which soothes and relaxes your nervous system.
When the fight or flight response is activated the following things happen inside your body and mind:
increased muscle tension (as your body tenses up to run or fight)
digestion slows (your body is going to take all the energy it normally uses for digestion to focus on the threat)
increased alertness (your body is not focused on sleeping or resting around a threat)
rapid heart rate (to pump blood and prepare you for action)
decreased decision making (so you can make quick "life saving" decisions to get away from danger)
When your fight or flight response is activated it's harder for you to relax, make decisions, and think clearly.
The two systems work together. When your fight or flight response becomes activated the rest and digest system will come online and balance out the fight or flight response. The rest and digest response does basically the opposite of everything the fight or flight response does.
Back in the day, the fight or flight response was VERY helpful so we could survive when we came face to face with poisonous snakes or a saber tooth tigers. And, it is still important today when we encounter significant threats!
However nowadays, instead of encountering threats once in a while in the wilderness, modern day threats like your boss, your children, your finances, and even imagined scenarios in your head are putting you in a CONSTANT state of fight or flight! Whichever state you experience most will be the state that dominants your nervous system.
And most of us are in a constant state of fight or flight .... which means all of those uncomfortable bodily sensations and changes to your body are taking place all the time (e.g., trouble falling asleep, muscle tension, brain fog). Plus this state releases a flow of stress hormones (cortisol) which hurts your body.
The good news is that when we force ourselves to breathe deeply, even for 3 minutes, it will activate the rest and digest response. Your body can not possibly be in a state of fight or flight when it is breathing deeply.
Another HUGELY important reason why deep breathing is critical for our wellbeing is because we need to calm our bodies before when we can calm our minds.
When your nervous system is in hyper drive, you may have all the coping strategies in the world, but it will be hard for you to use them because your body is panicking.
So challenge yourself by committing to practicing deep breathing regularly to retrain your nervous system.
And the next time you get upset and experience strong emotions, take a moment to breathe deeply so you get a chance to think clearly, and engage your coping strategies.
For some great breathing exercises - check out this article
doodledwellness update
I finally have my first summer without having to do practicum. In the clinical psychology program, you get the 4 months before starting Internship (ah!) off. So I am taking the summer to continue my Ph.D research and create more content for you all!
This month I am planning to do another Instagram Live. I will be talking about how to tackle unhelpful thoughts - stay tuned for the date and to see who my co-host is!
I gave a talk to a company last month about how to protect your mental health while using the Internet and social media. It was awesome so I decided to turn this information into a 31 page resource and workbook! It will go on sale as a part of a Healthy Living Bundle with other digital creators between June 22 to June 30th. Check my Instagram during that week for more details 🙂
Book of the month
A truly amazing book from the original Instagram therapist @theholisticpsychologist
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about how your relationship with your parents influenced how you see yourself, the others, and the world.
Podcast of the month
I've been listening to this podcast since my first year of graduate school.
Dhru does an AMAZING job summarizing all types of content during his interviews with psychologists, life coaches, nutritionists, medical doctors, etc. etc. You name it, he's interviewed them. I've learned so much about mental health and my body through this podcast.
Monthly Journal Prompt
Journaling is an amazing way to express yourself. I had a mentor tell me once that I process things outwardly. So when I am having trouble making a decision or want to sort out my thoughts and feelings, I should journal to get what is stuck inside of me outside.
If you find journalling hard - that's normal. Write freely without caring about the way it reads because after all, it's your own private words for you and you only.
Journaling can also provide you with many interesting insights about yourself and remember what I always say - THAT AWARENESS IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS HEALING
This month's journal prompt is ......
Something I learned about myself this month was ....... and I feel ......... about it.
And that's all from me for this month's newsletter,
Thank you for showing up for yourself.
Love,
Amy Tran aka @doodledwellness