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Be kind to your mind
Este Meyer
12 June 2020
1. Understanding how the brain functions (how it affects the body’s functioning)
2. What does a healthy mind look like normally vs. during Covid-19
3. Your mind and productivity
4. Factors limiting our minds to function optimally
5. Re-wiring our minds to adapt to different circumstances
6. Be kind to your mind – habits supporting healthy minds
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
THESE ARE CRAZY TIMES…
THESE ARE CRAZY TIMES…
FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR MINDS
The brain / mind is the
most complicated part of
our bodies.
The mind is the manifestations of thought, perception, emotion, determination, memory and imagination that
takes place within the brain.
In the first year of life, the brain
will grow 3 x its size, and will
continue to grow until you are 18
years old.
• The human brain contains
approximately one hundred
billion neurons.
• Information travels between
neurons in your brain for
everything we see, think, or do
(can move up to 250mph or
402km/h, depending on how
familiar the task/thought is).
OUR NEED TO SURVIVE
Message
1Emotional brain / lizard brain / primitive brain• Emotional processing
• Interprets experience
• When it perceives danger, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
• Perception – can be based on memories of similar / previous threaths
Command centre
• Communicates with the body through
the autonomic nervous system
• Physically prepares body for fight /
flight / freeze
• Tunnel vision, blocks out any info not
relevant
• Not a good state to be in in the long
run
2
• Adrenaline
• Cortisol (if threat continues)
Logical brain (frontal cortex)
• Thinking
• Reasoning
• Decision making
• Planning
Determine a logical response
3
Our brains are wired for certainty and
survival.
As soon as you get a sense that your
survival is threatened, your brain
responds with fight / flight / freeze.
OUR NEED TO SURVIVE (CONTINUES)
Amygdala automatically
activates fight or flight
If the threat is mild / moderate
the frontal lobes override the
amygdala, and enables a
rational response
• Frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex) are
processing the information
• Determine if the danger really exist,
and what the right response is
If the threat is strong, you can find
yourself in an
amygdala highjack
In the face of danger or uncertainty…
How to stop a Amygdala high-jack..
Consciously activate the
frontal cortex
Acknowledge you feel
threatened
Become aware of your
emotions and your body
Remind yourself that
what you are feeling is
an automatic response
Continue to engage your
frontal lobes by thinking
about the situation you
are in
1 2 3 4 5
OUR MINDS INTERACTING WITH OUR BODIES
What our brains produce, depends in part on our
thoughts, feelings, and expectations.
Our mind Our bodyPowerful
allies
How we think can effect how our bodies
feel
How our bodies feel can affect how we think
Fostering positive thoughts
Tense muscles, stomach pain,
headaches
Worrying about finances, the
future, your health etc
Production of endorphins which
are natural pain killers, which
strengthens the immune system
vs. vs.
DID YOU KNOW…
You have neurons in your gut (almost 500m of them), it is called the Enteric Nervous System (ENS)
…..As well as in your heart (more or less 40 000)
These neurons functions independently from the brain, but frequently communicate with your brain and
regulate bodily functions.
For example… when you are calm, your heart-rate is more rhythmic and steady. Your ‘gut’ is also at ease,
allowing your body to digest food properly.
When you are stressed / nervous, you tend to get ‘butterflies’ and your heart-rate picks up.
WHAT DOES A HEALTHY MIND LOOK LIKE?
A mind that allows you to….
Achieve a state of complete physical, mental and
social wellbeing
Current situation:
• Change
• Isolation
• Illness
• Stress (financial, work, home, school, etc.)
• Multitasking at home
• Wearing masks and excessive hand-washing
• Trauma (re-living previous trauma)
• Uncertainty about the future
Given the ‘biology’ of our minds and bodies, we can expect
this to be a tough time..
A healthy mind during C-19?
OUR MINDS AND PRODUCTIVITY
Boredom
Brilliance
“The best you can
be”
Burnout
Challenge / stretch
Performance
Low High
High
The right amount of pressure can be good for our brains, but we need to manage it carefully
WHAT ABOUT MULTI-TASKING?
When multitasking, we are just switching from one task to another, very rapidly. Each time you switch, it burns
oxygenated glucose (the fuel your brain needs to keep functioning) – making us feel exhausted after a short
while.
It makes it more difficult to organise our thoughts and to filter irrelevant information, reduces efficiency and quality
of our work, and creates stress and anxiety.
This creates a dangerous feedback loop that makes us feel like we are accomplishing a lot.
When we complete a tiny task we are hit with dopamine (reward hormone). Our brains love that dopamine and so
we are encouraged to keep switching between small tasks that give us instant gratification. (Recipe for social media)
Our brains are designed to focus on one thing at a time, so minimize multitasking…
TIPS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
Stick to 52 minutes on, and 17 minutes off
Do not eat in front of your computer
Do creative work first
Write tomorrow’s to-do list tonight
Can this only be done by me? Is it important? Two no’s = cut it!
Cut tasks that won’t help you reach a goal
Do your most important tasks first
Sort tasks according to what is urgent vs. important Introduce 30 min meetings
FACTORS LIMITING OUR MINDS TO FUNCTION OPTIMALLY
• Body (lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, lack of sleep, chronic pain, etc.)
• Environment (noise, distraction, etc.)
• Work (being unproductive, bored or overly stretched)
• Spirit (not able to do what you are passionate about)
• Finances (a lack thereof..)
• Community (being isolated, rejected, concerned, etc.)
• Emotions (guilt, stress, trauma, etc.)
How many of these factors are you currently faced with?
ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL – REWIRING OUR BRAINS
Neuroplasticity:
The brain is uniquely designed to be one of the most adaptable, modifiable, and regenerative organs in the
entire body.
The brain is like an
open field
BE KIND TO YOUR MIND
soft belly breathing
Be mindful
Manage your ego
Be vulnerable, and
cultivate compassion
Explore your calling
Love thyself
Food for thought
Get some zzzZZZ
Seek the sun
Shake that body and
laugh
Strike a pose
Daydream (PCD)
REFERENCES
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response#:~:text=After%20the%20amygdala%20sends%20a,as%20adrenaline)%20into%20the%20bloodstream.
https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/amygdala-hijack#overview
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/
https://exploringyourmind.com/the-heart-has-neurons-too/
https://medium.com/swlh/multitasking-is-killing-your-brain-cca83edca7bb
https://bigthink.com/brain-hack
https://www.samhealthplans.org/about-samaritan-health-plans/why-8-aspects-of-wellness
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/make-your-brain-smarter/201212/your-brain-your-productivity
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11762/5-ways-to-rewire-your-brain-for-meaningful-life-changes.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/productivity-tricks_b_5267663?utm_content=buffer0bec8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
https://www.livinghealthy.com/articles/10-mind-body-wellness-strategies
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response#:~:text=After%20the%20amygdala%20sends%20a,as%20adrenaline)%20into%20the%20bloodstreamhttps://www.healthline.com/health/stress/amygdala-hijack#overviewhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/https://exploringyourmind.com/the-heart-has-neurons-too/https://medium.com/swlh/multitasking-is-killing-your-brain-cca83edca7bbhttps://bigthink.com/brain-hackhttps://www.samhealthplans.org/about-samaritan-health-plans/why-8-aspects-of-wellnesshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/make-your-brain-smarter/201212/your-brain-your-productivityhttps://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11762/5-ways-to-rewire-your-brain-for-meaningful-life-changes.htmlhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/productivity-tricks_b_5267663?utm_content=buffer0bec8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=bufferhttps://www.livinghealthy.com/articles/10-mind-body-wellness-strategies