MAKING SENSE OF AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
The world is a crazy place to navigate these days.
As if the massive changes brought about by the pandemic weren’t enough, now we’re facing another era-defining crisis in Europe.
And all the while, we’ve got to perform in our jobs, maintain relationships, remember to look after ourselves, and try not to get sucked into the circus that is our 24/7 connection to social media and news channels.
It’s not surprising that people are feeling overwhelmed.
We’re on a spin-cycle of feelings - all the emotions keep hitting us .
In a single day, you could easily feel
- Irritable cos you didn’t sleep well
- Stressed cos 3 people on your team are off with Covid
- Gob-smacked that daffodils still know how to flower in this crazy world
- Guilty that you’re just getting groceries while people are being bombed out of their homes
- Angry that fuel costs are so high
- Happy and excited to see your friend that you literally haven’t seen since before lockdown 1
- Anxious cos your kids could be inheriting a Europe at war
- Exhausted and numb just from trying to keep it all going
It can be so overwhelming.
Very few people are at their best with all this going on. Most people are just trying to hang in there, swaying in the uncertainty, like autumn leaves in the breeze - not knowing what gust will take them away.
How can we feel safe enough to relax our heightened stress response in this day and age?
It’s easy to feel like we’ve got no control.
But we do have control!
We have far more control than most of us realise.
But we need to understand how our brain is working to leverage that control.
Here’s an example. Our brains have networks known as the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Task Positive Network (TPN).
Now, the interesting thing about these is that they can’t both operate at the same time. So, the DMN is our ‘resting’ brain state. (The clue is in the name!). This network roams the timeline, taking our imagination into the future and back to the past. This is all well and good if we’re experiencing positive or helpful emotions, when DMN can help us experience feelings like anticipation and warm nostalgia.
Of course, when our brain is already carrying an emotional load that tells us that we are under threat (such as a pandemic, or war in Europe… or even rising living costs), then that flips to a less positive outlook, and starts to lean towards rumination and worry.
What are our options?
Well, taking action is one.
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