If I had to distill my parenting down to one important lesson I tried to teach my kids, it was exactly what you speak of: You can’t control what happens (or other people), but you can control your reactions and behavior. It took me so long to learn that for myself that I knew I had to impart that wisdom to them early. Thanks for sharing.
It took me a while to learn that too. I thought with what happened last week to me, it was a great way to share that lesson. I think we have more control than we think we do.
Yes! It's so important to actually listen to your body when it wants to go into Freeze. It's taken me 6 decades to be able to do this without beating myself up while I'm doing it. I think I'm finally getting it that the body always knows.
My lizard brain has been loudly overachieving all my life. I have been trying to persuade it to step back a little and let me handle things myself. My therapist has suggested that I acknowledge whatever my amygdala has offered - usually danger and catastrophe - thank it for it's contribution and check in with my prefrontal cortex to see what it thinks. It's a slow process of re-pogramming, but I think it will work.
Retraining our brains can take a while. I’m glad you have a plan. Our lizard brain just wants to protect us, but sometimes we distinguish between actual and perceived danger in our prefrontal brain. Good luck!
If I had to distill my parenting down to one important lesson I tried to teach my kids, it was exactly what you speak of: You can’t control what happens (or other people), but you can control your reactions and behavior. It took me so long to learn that for myself that I knew I had to impart that wisdom to them early. Thanks for sharing.
It took me a while to learn that too. I thought with what happened last week to me, it was a great way to share that lesson. I think we have more control than we think we do.
I think I'm learning that at the same time as my children!
Better late than never! It’s a lesson that changed my life once I truly got it.
Yes! It's so important to actually listen to your body when it wants to go into Freeze. It's taken me 6 decades to be able to do this without beating myself up while I'm doing it. I think I'm finally getting it that the body always knows.
My lizard brain has been loudly overachieving all my life. I have been trying to persuade it to step back a little and let me handle things myself. My therapist has suggested that I acknowledge whatever my amygdala has offered - usually danger and catastrophe - thank it for it's contribution and check in with my prefrontal cortex to see what it thinks. It's a slow process of re-pogramming, but I think it will work.
Retraining our brains can take a while. I’m glad you have a plan. Our lizard brain just wants to protect us, but sometimes we distinguish between actual and perceived danger in our prefrontal brain. Good luck!