Written by Alleah Schweitzer
“When you reach for the stars, you are reaching for the farthest thing out there. When you reach deep into yourself, it is the same thing, but in the opposite direction. If you reach in both directions, you will have spanned the universe.”
Vera Nazaria
As we continue exploring our summer theme of Reflecting on our Roots, we’ll take a turn towards emotional wellbeing in today’s post…
Emotions, feelings, and reflections of our inner experiences tend to be relegated to the territory of mental health— that is, the stuff going on in our heads. This is true but also not telling of the entire tale! The deeper we explore within ourselves, the more readily we notice that emotional health can initiate physical responses in our body too.
Our brain’s amygdala, while tiny and almond-shaped, has an enormous job— it is the center for processing our emotions. It is also the same structure that automatically detects hazards, scanning for danger at all times of day (and even at night while we sleep) to ensure we are safe. When a threatening situation is detected, our “fight or flight” survival mechanism is triggered and our bodies are flooded with adrenaline and hormones that increase our heart rates, cause sweating and irregular breathing, heighten our alertness, and create tension.
You have probably heard of the “fight or flight” response before. But did you know that our “fight or flight” response is triggered by non-life-threatening scenarios too? Studying for an exam, speaking in public, and taking on a heavy workload can produce strong emotions like panic, worry, shame, or loneliness. Reaching for the stars means we are stretching ourselves to learn and grow. But we also need to recognize when we overextend ourselves too. Feelings of stress and anxiety can have impacts on our mental and physical health in the long-term.
Try the “Name It to Tame It” technique when a stressor arises. Identifying an intense emotion (“naming”) has the effect of reducing the stress and anxiety (“taming”) the brain and the body that that emotion is causing.
Gently reflect on these painful emotions right after a stressful event occurs using the 4-step “Name It To Tame It” technique developed by Dr. Daniel Siegel, Mindful Awareness Center at UCLA:
- Locate and notice the feeling of stress in our body. Where did the stress arise in your body? Maybe you noticed a tightness in your chest or that your breathing quickened.
Take a slow and deep breath in. - Recognize and name the situations that are triggering this stress. Maybe they are rooted in a conflict with a roommate or studying for an upcoming test.
Name the trigger and then exhale. - Recognize and name the emotion that accompanies this trigger. Name it to tame it! Check out this Mood Meter if you want to precisely label the emotion you are feeling.
Name the emotion and inhale. - Notice the changes the previous steps had on our body’s physical response to stress. Maybe our shoulders relaxed or our breathing deepened.
Exhale.
Our bodies’ stress response is a cue for us to pay attention and act. When we notice these physical changes, we are empowered to create a healthy distance between ourselves and that emotion, experiencing our emotions rather being controlled by them, and preventing ourselves from getting swept up in an emotional outburst. By exploring deeper within, noticing the external factors and consequent physical changes that impact our roots of emotional wellbeing, we can develop a skillset to use at any point. What abounds is the capacity to be our best self, opening up a universe of possibilities.
Written by Alleah Schweitzer, Student Wellness Center Wellbeing Program Coordinator