Latest / Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot / Pattern Interrupt: Breaking the Stress Cycle 4/7

Transcript

Pattern Interrupt: Breaking the Stress Cycle 4/7 · Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Welcome back.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Trust Yourself Thursday.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Here on the Sweet Spot, I'm Dr Derek Sweet.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: We have been having a blast as we've been breaking through stress cycles, using practical tools and wonderful insights from ancient wisdom, weaving in some neuroscience and just generally understanding that we have a lot more power in us than we sometimes are aware of.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: So, on Trust Yourself Thursday today I'm going to talk to you about building internal stability.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: As you know, I'm a board certified psychiatrist.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I specialize in sports and high performance, and I do work with elite athletes and high performing individuals, but more than that, I enjoy connecting with anyone who wants to live a life they love and be the best version of themselves.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Over the past few days, we've explored how to break stress cycles and redirect that nervous energy and use pressure as a performance advantage.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Today, on Trust Yourself Thursday, let's focus on developing that deep internal stability that I mentioned, the kind of stability that will allow you to remain centered regardless of external circumstances.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: When you watch the best athletes and the best performers do their thing, they are always so calm.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Under pressure, a million things can be going on around them, but they seem laser-focused and supremely calm.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: You ever notice that?
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I'm reminded of Jon Kabat-Zinn's powerful words, the mindfulness guru.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: His quote was this.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: His quote was this you can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: This perfectly captures what I'm trying to communicate to you today, this essence of resilience.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Think of your favorite athlete, your favorite performer, your favorite actor, whoever it is, and remember how calm they looked in the middle of whatever action they were doing.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: They were literally surfing on the waves.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: They have mastered that.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: And that, my friend, is about trust.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Neurologically, stress and trust are linked in a particular section of the brain called the insular cortex.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: We haven't spent a whole section of the brain called the insular cortex.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: We haven't spent a whole lot of time on the insular cortex.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: We've talked about it once or twice.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: So I'll remind you that this is the brain region that interprets your body's sensations and helps to determine whether you perceive a situation as threatening or manageable.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: When the insular cortex that's, i-n-s-u-l-a-r, the insular cortex when that area is well regulated, you and I will be able to maintain access to the PFC, the prefrontal cortex, our higher reasoning even when we're under intense pressure, which is what's happening with your favorite athlete, your favorite performer.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: The fascinating thing is that this brain region becomes stronger through consistent mindfulness practice, and that's good news for you and me.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: We don't have to be a superstar in order to get our insular cortex to help us when we're facing stress or anxiety, and isn't that really good news.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: I would feel good about that if I were you.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: You know, every time you notice stress arising without immediately reacting to it, you're literally strengthening your neural pathways for resilience.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: So here, okay, how does that work?
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: When you feel stress, what I want you to do is place one hand over your chest and take 30 seconds to simply notice how you're feeling, observe the physical sensations without judging it, without trying to change anything.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Notice the tension, feel the heartbeat, sense the breathing, all without any judgment.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Just notice what's happening, pay attention to it.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: This simple act, my friend, this very simple act of just witnessing the anxiety, witnessing the stress, of just witnessing the anxiety, witnessing the stress, will activate your insular cortex.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: And you know what?
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Because you're not doing anything, you're not spazzing out and being all diffuse about it, and you're just noticing it.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: A strange thing happens.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: The insular cortex looks at this and says, hmm, let's reinforce this person's capacity to remain steady when they're in the middle of pressure.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: It gets stronger, it gets steadier.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: One executive I worked with was practicing this on a daily basis and she reported that it didn't matter how big a meeting she had to face.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: She felt great, she was always poised.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: And she wasn't like that until she started practicing this idea of just listening to herself, noticing what's happening, paying, paying attention without judgment, and then doing the reset breath, the pattern interrupt breath that we talked about on Monday, and then asking the question how will this help me?
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: So try this today and notice how quickly you can return to center.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: This is the secret of great performance To notice what's happening, to be aware of it, to then interpret it and use this fuel for your benefit.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: So the heart rates up and you're feeling tight.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Do the reset breath, the pattern interrupt, and you interpret this.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: This is all energy that's telling me that I'm going to have a fantastic response.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Try it, there's nothing to lose.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: All right, and you'll begin to trust yourself more.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Your insular cortex will begin to run the show more than your amygdala, the threat center and your prefrontal cortex.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: The brain's CEO, will collaborate with you and help you to make great decisions under pressure, but it all starts with just trusting the moment and being aware of what's happening, without judgment.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: This is Dr Derek Sweet.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to the Sweet Spot For joining me here on Trust Yourself, thursday.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Tomorrow is Finish Strong Friday and, my goodness, are we going to finish strong tomorrow?
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Alright, love and blessings, everybody.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Stay strong, trust yourself and I'll see you tomorrow.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: All right, love and blessings, everybody.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Stay strong, trust yourself and I'll see you tomorrow.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: If you'd like to connect with me, don't hesitate to meet me on X, on Instagram, on LinkedIn or YouTube.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Thank you.