Thank you to Bill and Melinda Gates for partnering with me. Read their Annual Letter here: https://m-gat.es/3jxfnOE

Our stress response is supposed to be something that is short-lived.. We identify the threat to our safety and our body readies us for either fight or flight by releasing cortisol and adrenaline. Then we either fight or run away, and our stress response cycle is complete, we calm down and feel okay. However, when the threat is an invisible virus that we can’t really run from or fight in a real way, we freeze. When we don’t have any other option and have to freeze, we don’t get to complete the stress response. There isn’t a release for our nervous system that has been cued up for action, so all of that energy just runs through our body with no way to get it out.
Our stress response also affects our brain. It ignites our limbic system which includes our amygdala or what I like to call the fire alarm of our brain. When the amygdala is alerted it overrides our prefrontal cortex which is responsible for organization, planning, and decision making. Which makes sense because if we are under attack or threatened in some way we really don’t need to think things through, thoughtfully plan things out, or make sure we are working toward our goals. Instead, we need to be impulsive, reactive, and do first, think about it later. This is why, in the last 12 or so months, many of us may have relapsed into drugs and alcohol as well as self-injurious or eating disorder behaviors. We are stressed out and unable to think things through. The pandemic has in essence lowered our defenses and made us more susceptible to our impulses.

Link for impulse log: https://selfinjury.com/resources/how-to-use-the-impulse-control-log/

#gatespartner #COVID-19 #Stress

I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!

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