Turn Off the Fight or Flight Response: Evidence-Based Strategies

Summary

This video shares three research-backed techniques to help calm your nervous system and manage stress effectively. These methods include using anchoring phrases, diaphragmatic breathing, and the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which engages the senses. The speaker also provides three additional preventative strategies for maintaining calm, including brain training, meditation, and consistent self-care practices. Each method aims to help shift from a fight-or-flight state to a more relaxed, healing state. The video concludes with personal insights and encourages viewers to share their own strategies.

Takeaways

• 😀 Using anchoring phrases can help calm yourself during stressful moments by grounding you in facts about yourself and your surroundings.
• 🌬 Diaphragmatic (belly) breathing is a powerful technique to slow heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and combat anxiety.
• 👀 The 5-4-3-2-1 technique engages all five senses to bring you back to the present moment and quickly reduce stress.
• 🧠 Reappraising situations and reframing them positively can change how the brain responds, lowering stress and promoting better physiological responses.
• 🛏 Sleep and meditation lower brain waves to parasympathetic levels, enabling deep healing and recovery; you can practice this state even during the day with meditation.
• 🧘‍♀️ Meditating regularly helps to reduce pain, stress, and improve overall well-being by tapping into the body’s natural healing processes.
• 💡 Self-care should be a moment-to-moment practice, not just limited to scheduled activities like massages or meditation.
• 🔄 Asking yourself throughout the day, 'What does self-care look like for me right now?' helps you maintain balance and prevent stress from building up.
• 💬 Taking small pauses during stressful situations, such as Zoom meetings or overwhelming tasks, can help reset and maintain calm.
• 🌿 Consistent micro-moments of self-care throughout the day lead to higher energy levels and less exhaustion at the end of the day.

Q & A

What is the main goal of the video?

The main goal of the video is to share three research-backed techniques that can be used as a psychological first aid kit to quickly calm yourself down from a stressed state and return to the parasympathetic nervous system for healing and long-term health.

What is an anchoring phrase, and how can it help in stressful situations?

An anchoring phrase is a short, factual phrase that you choose when you're calm and repeat to yourself during times of stress. It can help ground you in the present moment and remind you of who you are, helping to calm your mind during stressful moments.

How does diaphragmatic breathing work, and why is it effective?

Diaphragmatic breathing involves deep, slow breaths from the belly, which increases oxygen flow, slows heart rate, and lowers blood pressure. This counters the body's fight-or-flight response by signaling that everything is okay, helping to reduce anxiety and panic.

What is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, and how does it help in calming stress?

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique is a grounding exercise that engages all the senses. It involves identifying five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This helps bring your focus back to the present moment and reduce stress.

Why does the speaker emphasize the need for strategies to calm the nervous system in modern life?

The speaker emphasizes this because modern environments are filled with persistent stressors that keep our nervous systems in a heightened state, unlike the environments humans evolved in. Techniques are needed to help reset the nervous system to a healing state.

What is the bonus strategy that the speaker personally uses daily?

The bonus strategy is a moment-by-moment approach to self-care, where the speaker asks herself throughout the day, 'What does self-care look like for me right now?' This helps her stay grounded, manage stress, and prevent it from escalating.

What is the significance of Ben Erens' brain training approach mentioned in the video?

Ben Erens' brain training approach, used in his recovery from ME/CFS, involves cognitive reappraisal, which changes how the brain perceives threats, thus reducing stress responses. By reframing stressful stimuli, the brain can reduce the production of harmful stress hormones and promote healing.

How does meditation help engage the parasympathetic nervous system according to Julie Moren?

Julie Moren explains that meditation helps lower brain waves to alpha or theta states, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This leads to healing and recovery, providing pain relief and improving how the body responds to stress during the day.

Why does the speaker consider her approach to self-care different from traditional views?

The speaker's approach to self-care is different because it is not episodic or scheduled. Instead, it is a continuous, moment-to-moment practice where she constantly assesses her needs and makes small adjustments to ensure she is taking care of herself throughout the day.

How can asking 'What does self-care look like for me right now?' prevent stress from escalating?

By asking this question regularly, the speaker can catch signs of stress early and make immediate adjustments, such as taking a breath or pausing a stressful activity. This helps stop stress from building up, keeping her more balanced and grounded throughout the day.