Latest / Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot / Pattern Interrput: Breaking the Stress Cycle 2/7

Transcript

Pattern Interrput: Breaking the Stress Cycle 2/7 · Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Well, we're back.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: We're back here on Take Action Tuesday.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I'm Dr Derek Sweet.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: I'm so glad you decided to join me here on the Sweet Spot to follow up on the work that we're doing this week on coping with stress, finding ways to combat anxiety, finding ways to handle the tension, all the various things that are coming at us.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: And here on Take Action Tuesday we're going to build on what we learned yesterday.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Now, yesterday, in Making Moves Monday, we spent time talking about that space between the trigger and the response.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Remember, we said that there's a space between the stimulus and the response and, as Viktor Frankl said, we can choose the response.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: And we saw yesterday that when we put that space in there we try being still that we activated a vagus nerve, a nerve in our cranial system, in our brain, that actually helped us relax and quieted down the threat detection system of the brain called the amygdala.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Wow, I love it when we talk science here on the Sweet Spot, because that's what we do, to show that we do have some control over our mind and how we think and our behaviors, and so if we can understand the science, then we can do something about it.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: So when you take that breath that we talked about yesterday.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: You are doing a pattern interrupt when you feel stress.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Remember, we said you take a breath in and then you exhale, but you make the exhale longer than the inhale, and that's how you do a pattern interrupt anytime you feel stress.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Now, not only does that activate the vagus nerve, which is the relaxation nerve in the parasympathetic nervous system, not only does it do that and helps you relax, it also brings the prefrontal cortex.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: You remember the prefrontal cortex?
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: We talk about it all the time.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: It's the CEO of the brain, the CEO.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: This is the one that helps us plan, make decisions and really be able to be rational.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: So when we feel anxiety and fear, the prefrontal cortex doesn't really get privileged, it's pushed to the back as the amygdala and limbic system take over.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Well, by doing a pattern interrupt and taking that breath and then doing a long exhale, you are setting yourself up to have the prefrontal cortex, your brain's CEO, come back in to help you make a great decision.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: So on, take Action Tuesday, today, boy, we're able now to pattern interrupt and now decide, with our prefrontal cortex at the helm, what kind of action we're going to take.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: And so, when you do the pattern interrupt and you do the three deep breaths and you do the three long exhales and you're in a better physiological and psychological state and you've interrupted the anxiety by creating a new kind of a neural response and pathway for yourself, you're in a position to take full advantage of Take Action Tuesday and what I'd like you to do when you get to that place where, okay, you're breathing and you kind of reset yourself.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Okay, then you ask yourself a question before you act how will what I'm about to do be in my best interest?
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: How will this serve me?
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Is this going to harm me or is this going to help me?
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Does this make the situation better or does it make it worse?
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Because you'll be able to better ask yourself that question once you've done the pattern interrupt, you've done the breathing and you're now in a better place to make a decision or take an action.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Let's say you got a really bad email from somebody and it really pissed you off.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: It made you so angry and you just wanted to just react.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: But you remembered the Sweet Spot podcast and you remembered that Dr Sweet said to you hey, between the stimulus and the response, I have a space.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I can choose my reaction or my response and you did the three deep breaths, with the long exhales, and you got yourself to do a pattern interrupt, wonderful.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Now you can ask, before you respond to the email, three questions how will this serve me?
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Does this help me or hurt me?
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Will this make the situation better or worse?
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Just being able to do that, to take that action, just being able to do that, to take that action, you will be a better decision maker, and that's it.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: That's it for Take Action Tuesday.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: It's as simple as that.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: You take your pattern interrupt as your move that we got from Making Moves Monday and then you combine it with asking the right question before you take action today on Take Action Tuesday, and guess what?
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Your stress levels are going to be different and you're going to be making better decisions when it's not your amygdala, the threat detection system, and it's your prefrontal cortex helping you make a better decision.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: I hope you got that.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: This is, dr Sweet.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: That's your challenge for today is to slow down, take a breath and then ask the question before you take the action.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow for Win it All Wednesday, where we're going to build on these principles and get an even deeper insight For those of you who would like to keep up with me, don't hesitate to contact me on X.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: You can contact me on Instagram.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: You can contact me on LinkedIn and on YouTube.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: I'm even on threads occasionally.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Take care, bye-bye, thank you.