Monthly Archives: July, 2018

Emotions: Express, Suppress or Master them?

“Some people believe that if they yell and scream, others will get the point of just how serious they are. For me, all I get is the point of just how out of control that someone is.” Cathy Burnham Martin

 

People’s emotions are running a mock these days. We witness it daily with news stories of violent killings, sexual abuse and terrorist atrocities. On our roads, we see drivers filled with rage towards other road users. On social media, we read the outright condemnation of individuals in the comments section of a post. Also, in the workplace, we observe outbursts from coworkers as just something to tolerate as ‘collateral damage’. Read More

Are you Just ‘Default Moding’?

I woke up this morning feeling a mixture of negative emotions: stress from the pressures of business; anxious to get a good deal on some flights I wanted to book; sad about the loss of a rescue dog we had had living with us and concerned about some uncomfortable calls I had to make that day. I could see myself caught up in these different emotions, unable to separate myself from their grip.

 

I was in what neuroscientists call the ‘Default Mode Network’. This is the place our brains naturally go to when they are in idle. When we are not specifically focused on, or involved with, a task. It is that mental chatter that we engage in when we are seemingly doing nothing. Through the use of brain imaging scanners, scientists can see this neural activity lights up a network of centres in the brain and draws considerably on our oxygenated blood.

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Cultivating Hope Amidst Challenging Times

“To turn a twist on an old saying, when the going gets tough, the hopeful keep going.” Rick Snyder

I am sure you have experienced a time when life, or a part of your life, seems like a long, dark tunnel with no light at the end of it. You are just in it. And there is nothing you can do. I have been in such a tunnel. Perhaps you have too. So, I thought it would be valuable to look at how to cultivate the essential psychological quality of hope when you are in that seeming darkness. Read More

Is Your Dopamine Flowing Plentifully?

With our amazing hot weather in the UK at the moment, we just want to be outside, enjoying the summer sun. Although we would love the pace of life to slow in the heat, this deceleration does not seem to happen: Emails come pinging in. The phone rings. People interrupt with their urgent matters that need our attention. And the ‘to do’ list still seems as long.
Added to this is our own internal pressures. That voice telling us we ‘must do that’ and ‘should do that’ for example “I must get this done today or my client will be disappointed” or “I should go for that run now or I will never get fit’. We have sub-personalities within us driving us to succeed, to look good, to keep the peace, to fit in, to seek approval and their demanding voices crack the whip to keep us going at all times.

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