Our Journey today Toxic Stress Heather Nielsen, LPC Behavioral Health Consultant Hood River Valley High School School-based Health Center Understand the biological need for our stress response: fight, flight, and freeze Identify personal examples of skillful and unskillful stress responses Develop increased compassion for the reactivity in self and other Learn and practice a simple strategy for neural integration Stress A Biological Response to Perceived Threat Stress What is it? Acute threat? Body Activates!!! Stress response keeps us ALIVE Live to EAT lunch, not BE lunch (courtesy of Dr Rick Hanson). Distress Eustress STRESS What is it for you? How do you know your own stress? Think pair share
Stress: Then and Now One visual of Stress: the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change Hans Selye, 1936 Everyone knows what stress is, but nobody really knows. (selye later in his career ) a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. "he's obviously under a lot of stress Wikipedia, 2016 Huge variability! Individual, cultural, biological, situational Often depends upon individuals noticing their own stress symptoms and adjusting (responding) prior to the steep downward plunge past productivity. How about when this is CHRONIC/TOXIC We are hard-wired for: Survival Attachment Pleasure Comfort When our basic needs are not met, THIS creates STRESS. Can lead to all sorts of unskillful choices and unpleasant outcomes. Addictions Compulsions Relationship troubles School/work difficulty Legal violations Etc.
Three Main Brain Areas for Stress! Three Main Brain Areas for Stress! BRAINSTEM = SAFETY Lizard-brain When our safety is at risk, it goes on high alert Pre-cognition; instinctive Keeps us from getting hit by a car, burned by a flame, overdrawing our bank account, etc. KEEPS US ALIVE AND SAFE LIMBIC BRAIN= Emotional Brain/Reward and Satisfaction Brain Especially active in adolescence! Sensitive to reward/punishment Seeks pleasure/avoids pain. Shapes our behavior via emotion (vs logical/cognitive brain). STRESS when we feel failure, punishment, disappointment, lack of performance, etc. HELPS US SEEK PLEASURE/AVOID PAIN Three Main Brain Areas for Stress! Let s take a look at the process in our brains. Prefrontal Cortex: Thinking/Consciousness Functions in: planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. Stress here = difficulty with decisions, confusion, disconnection, withdrawl. We can use our cortical powers to manage our stress perceptions and calm ourselves!
You can see the problem over time How about you? We are all seeking: Safety, Satisfaction, and Connection. Chronic stress can deplete our capacity to make good choices. Limited positive modeling, reinforcement and skill building = problematic for many. Reflect on a recent stress of your own. How did you respond? Was it skillful or was is reactive? Responding vs. reacting takes learning and practice, practice, practice. Developing our Minds to Manage our Stressors. Starts with This Breath. Mindfulness Paying attention On purpose In the present moment Nonjudgmentally Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of MBSR
Where is your mind? Self-Compassion (important for genuine, sustained and sustainable compassion towards others ) Self Compassion Let s Practice Together.
What can you do TODAY to help your brain and body with stress?! Think of what we discussed today. What practice(s) seem valuable and practical for YOU for your stress? Pick one to try daily.