Disruption; the universal constant.
Disruption, also known as change, is a natural and reoccurring force. Disruption can cause our thinking brains to become misaligned, bringing the increased potential for poor actions to be taken, at the point of choice.
Some paths along the road of disruption can involve anxiety, frustration, and anger, to name a few; these can cause a complete halt to normal functioning, and send one into a state which feels like a downward spiral.
Take this ordinary example and see if this sounds familiar on how some minor disruptions can escalate to implosion, and a sudden collapse of your emotional cognitive system.
Waking to begin the morning, imagine that the first clock you encounter shows the presumably correct time. Then imagine within a few minutes after arising you find the clock you first saw was an hour behind and because of this, you are now late for work! Anxiety begins. The realization that you are now behind is increased when you remember that there are still responsibilities that must be addressed, such as feeding the animals, taking the trash down, waking your spouse (who may now also be late), and possibly several other tasks that must be addressed.
This sudden increase in stress causes norepinephrine to be released in the brain.
According to Christopher W.T. Miller (2023)“ Norepinephrine is needed for everyday thinking tasks and, when levels are ideal, it activates the OFC and vmPFC, allowing us to think about matters in focused, flexible ways.
As stress increases, though, norepinephrine does, too. When levels of norepinephrine are excessive, there is a shift in the brain areas it binds to — it stops activating the thinking brain and starts activating the emotional brain.
Stress can shut down the vmPFC, making it hard to feel connected with the minds of others, leaving us stuck in our emotion-driven interpretations of things. We move increasingly into fight mode, which limits our ability to respond flexibly.”
Although you may be able to overcome the impact of being late, and the anxiety created from just a small disruption, you are without a doubt, going encounter more disruption as you navigate this journey. Imagine that as you get on with your day, the stress associated with all the things encountered shortly after arising have been overcome. It still takes the brain time for the chemical changes to realign, but what happens when the disruptions continue to occur at a pace you are unable to handle?
In a world where technology allows almost instant communication, certain inputs, such as reminders, social media alerts, instant messages, and news can come in so quickly, ones mind can rapidly become overwhelmed.
The overwhelming moment.
The thinking brain is shut off, and the emotional brain is left to deal with the situation. This can happen when norepinephrine levels are excessive; In situations where there is an excess of disruption from external stimulants, multiple triggers, certain events, or the perceived sense of danger, can cause everything to come to a halt. These and other triggers, can send anxiety levels soaring, resulting in a feeling of panic; panic sometimes then becomes frustration, frustration becomes anger; a maddening cycle.
Emotional collisions.
When emotions collide, energy is transformed in this collision; as a property that can be observed, but not measured with a numerical result. With this observation, one can choose the course (if the observation narrative takes root quickly enough) and the correct decision can be made at the point of choice.
In physics, energy is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed.
Consider the moment of emotional collision. For example, imagine it is a beautiful morning for a walk with the dog. You’re in a good mood, and so is the dog. In the excitement of the moment the dog jumps on you playfully, but throwing you off balance to where you sustain a minor injury. In that moment the brain in now thrust into a situation which requires quick action to a threat. The brain changes chemical reactions, and your protective system engages. In this easy scenario you are faced with points of choice. One point of choice is how to handle an emotional response of anger, in which actions generally come before rational thought. This is not a gentle handoff of emotions, this is an emotional collision.
Mental overload
At the point of choice, when the incorrect path is chosen, the narrative becomes increasingly anxious, the cycle of wrong choice after wrong choice, resulting in further increased anxiety, become too much.
Full stop.
At this point your mind is so out of control, the only thing it can do is stop. This is a difficult place to be and can be unmanageable in varying degrees, particularly if there is alcohol involved. Getting your brain back in alignment, as I have experienced, is not generally something that happens as fast as it seems to have unraveled, just as disruption takes but what seems, a split second to occur, alignment is a process of now building and rebuilding.
The recovery.
In my past, before sobriety, a mental overload and full stop could cause me to be unraveling for weeks. An effort to, recognize these potential overloads has helped. In this effort, I attempt to take a step back from the situation, and process what narratives are being developed. Which of the narratives in my mind are factual, and which are based on an obscured perception? I have found that over time, with practice, the ability to observe these narratives, becomes more and more quickly available to the mind, offing you a better chance to make the correct decision at the point of choice. As disruption is a constant, alignment and misalignment are constantly a result. The result though, sometimes can be directed in a manner that brings a positive result, through observation and application.
Peace begins in the mind. As you venture through your day, take mental notes, write them down as soon as possible; later when things are calm, this may be hours, days, weeks…revisit. Is your perspective of the situation still the same? Were your decisions correct at the points of choice? These are the details on the map through the waters of disruption, which we all must navigate. As inward alignment progresses, fluidity becomes a navigational ally, that brings one closer to a state of equilibrium.
it’s the observance, without judgment that helps to develop the appropriate narrative; from an accurate narrative, an inward alignment can begin, which is the path to peace, balance and calm.
References
Advise | Anger overwhelming our thinking brain. Here’s how to bring it back online.
By Christopher W.T. Miller, MD
September 29, 2023 at 4:00 a.m. MT
