People are emptying shelves at grocery stores. They are stock piling canned goods. The news is going constantly on televisions and social media. I went to get a haircut and every person was talking about the coronavirus. Yes, I know, it is everywhere, but let’s take a moment to review how all of this is effecting our brain. As a trauma therapist, I like to explain 3 main parts of the brain that are currently being impacted by COVID19.
The lower part of the brain is what I call the Lizard Brain, it focuses on all the automatic stuff we need to do in order to survive (breath, heartbeat, temperature, etc.). The middle brain is like Cave Man. The Cave Man had primal thinking but it had a strong sense of survival. The Cave Man brain was focused on surviving the attack from wild animals. This part of our brain still exists and it sometimes become highly activated in stressful situation. The front upper part of the human brain is the pre-frontal cortex which I call the Human Brain. This is the last part of the brain that evolved which separates current humans to cave men. This part of our brain is responsible for executive thinking, collaboration, understands consequences, and calm. When we become highly stressed, we shift over to Cave Man thinking without even knowing it.
As we watch the news, visit grocery stores, and talk to others about COVID 19 our stress levels start to spike. Our Cave Man brain switches on and we shift into survival mode. Our anxiety creeps up and we begin to have thoughts and concerns for our safety. So what do we do? We stock pile canned goods, obsessively wash our hands, and buy tons of toilet paper to prepare.
Are you walking around feeling as though this is all ‘Surreal’? That is because some of us are walking around in a depersonalized state of being in which our brain is unable to process the idea that we may or may not be under threat and it does not quite know how to respond. When we get stuck in the Cave Man brain we only have 3 survival options: Fight, Flight, or Freeze. Fighting in this case looks a lot like stop piling to fight against starvation etc. Flight looks a lot like people escaping the fear by using more alcohol or engaging in other behaviors that may yield consequences. Freeze mode feels a lot like things are happening around us but it feels ‘Surreal’ or we depersonalize and feel detached from the problem--shut down.
As a trauma therapist, I treat the brain, body, and nervous system. I have a variety of techniques that help to re-calibrate our nervous system after traumatic and stressful experiences. I help people become ‘Un-Stuck’ after trauma occurs. I can help anyone at any age regain control of their internal reactions to stress. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other symptoms in connection to COVID19 it might be time to meet with a mental health professional to be screened for PTSD. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the Coronavirus, please contact me for some support.
www.noblepathcc.com
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