How Your Brain Is Taking You Hostage - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

How Your Brain Is Taking You Hostage…(and what you can do about it)!

Kim Long, MC, CCC, R. Psych (Alberta)

Director,

Dochas

Psychological Services, Inc.

Spruce Grove, Alberta

Slide2

AgendaDisclaimer

Goals

Science stuff

Research

–

stress, resilience, how our brains work

Strategies

Lists of

Practice: Calm Place/Grounding

Wrap up

Slide3

DisclaimerVideo recordingImplied consent

No affiliation with Young Living/No profit from sales of their

product

Participation:

Your choice

Triggers

Slide4

Disclaimer Continued…

YOU are the expert of YOU

Advice = grain of

salt

These

are my opinions based in:

Research

Experiences

2013 Masters of

Counselling

; 2015 R. Psych

Teacher

–

10 years

–

Elementary and Junior High levels

Base Brat (aka military kid)

Confidentiality

–

focus will be on my experiences

No identifying information given

Slide5

What About You?Take a moment to think about who YOU are. How do you want to live your life’s purpose?

Are the choices you make on a daily basis serving that life’s purpose?

Airplane analogy: Who do you put the oxygen mask on first and why?

Are you doing that?

Slide6

Goals:Education about:

The brain and how it works (or doesn’t work)

W

ellness

from a mental health

perspective

Science research

Experience

Tools that can be used

immediately

Slide7

How to Tell if I Need Therapy…

Oil change (

my bias)

Winter

blues (

Kwong

, 2015

)

35% of Canadians

10-15% seasonal depression

2-5% SAD

How do you tell the difference between “blues”, “nerves”, and something clinical, like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Anxiety, or Depression?

Interferes with daily life

function (work, relationships, self-care)

Others notice

Genetic predisposition?

Slide8

StressWhat is stress

?

A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation or

A state resulting from stress; especially: one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent

equilibrium (

Merriam-

Webster.com

, 2017)

Equilibrium/homeostasis

Don’t like change

Slide9

ContainersAnalogy: suitcase, pop bottle,

tupperware

container, etc.

Shove emotions/sensations/thoughts away

Think: What is your container?

Not really paying attention to how much putting away

Splits open/Leaks

Worst time

Under stress/overwhelmed or trying to relax/sleep

Having a great day

How to make space?

i.e. friend who’s father died

Slide10

Types of StressEnvironmental:

Light (Lambert, Reid, Kaye, Jennings, &

Esler

, 2002

)

Serotonin (

n.a

.

(c), 2017)

Edmonton Public Library; BTU 10 000 (

Johnson, D., 2014)

Pollution (

Heeken

&

Polivka

, 2015

)

i.e. China or even smog warnings in Toronto

Overcrowding

(Burton, 1990)

Increased crime and health issues

Financial/Situational (

Heeken

&

Polivka

, 2015

)

Lower SES/change in SES

Recession/layoffs

Slide11

Types of Stress Continued…

Physical:

Illness

(

n.a

., 2013)

i.e. Brain tumor

Pain

(

n.a

., 2013; Wilcox,

Veggeberg

,

Lemme

,

Hodkinson

,

Scrivani

, Burstein,

Beccerra

, &

Borsook

, 2016)

i.e. Migraines

Emotional:

Family/Relationships (

Heeken

&

Polivka

, 2015

)

Graduating/leaving home

Grief and loss

Divorce/death/significant changes = loss

Chronic

Stress

(

n.a

., 2013

)

–

Impact

?

Incl. ineffective coping strategies that used to work

After mom’s diagnosis = stuffing

Slide12

Resilience Factors“caring, supportive relationships” (American Psychological Association (APA), 2017)

Family/friends (

n.a

. (b), 2017)

= safe place to come back to after exploring world

“able to plan and carry out plan” (APA, 2017)

“positive view of self and confidence in strengths and abilities” (APA, 2017)

Self-efficacy (

n.a

. (b), 2017)

“skills in communication and problem solving” (APA, 2017)

Dual awareness: frontal lobe and emotional center (limbic system)

“capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses”

i.e. The Hulk

Slide13

Science Stuff OR: Why Mind, Body, and Emotion?

The

Three Brains/Triune Brain

https://

www.youtube.com

/

watch?v

=f-

m2YcdMdFw

Three

brain

model (Siegel, 2017)

Wrist = spinal cord

Palm = brain stem (Reptilian brain; Fisher, 2016)

Thumb = limbic system/emotional center (Mammalian brain

;

Fisher, 2016)

5 senses

Palm and thumb = regulate arousal, emotions, and 3

Fs

Sensory cortices = store info specific to emotional meaning of senses (

Rettner

, 2010)

Slide14

The Brain

Fingers = Frontal lobe/cortex

Perceive outside world, think, and reason

Behind eyes = Prefrontal cortex

Regulates subcortical regions (limbic system/brain stem)

Limbic system tries to react to perceived threat; prefrontal cortex tries to shut the reaction off

Slide15

Slide16

“Flipping Your Lid”

Prefrontal cortex and Cortex offline

https

://

www.youtube.com

/

watch?v

=G0T_2NNoC68 Flipping Your

Lid

Thumb and palm triggered again and again

Like static electricity

i.e. Sister and truck drive home - staring

“Amygdala Hijack” (

Ahuja

,

Myat

, Cervantes, & Zahn,

n.d.

)

Straw that broke the camel’s back

i.e. Vacuum and furnace

Slide17

MemoriesHippocampus, prefrontal and frontal cortices, and amygdala

Directly linked in memory formation and retrieval (Jin &

Maren

, 2015;

n.a

. (a), 2017)

Offline = major problem in forming clear memories

Triggers are reactions to current events

“Trigger” our body/emotional memories of something not so great

Can’t id triggers or don’t know why we’re reacting the way we are

–

no language/story for

trigger,

just sensation

No explanation to label it/reduce charge

Slide18

Window of Tolerance

Steffensen

, T., 2010)

Slide19

Window of ToleranceStress (esp. chronic) + coping mechanisms that no longer work = vice on either

end

i.e. Master’s degree and laundry

Relief the trigger

Chronic stress without proper care after =

Continuum of illness and symptoms (Arber, 2014)

F

atigue/illness

Pain

Hypervigilance

(looking over shoulder, waiting for shoe to drop)

Rumination (stewing about events/trying to predict future)

Harder to deal with uncertainty

Hopelessness

Poor memory formation and recall

Note: symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD

…

Slide20

What Are Strategies You Used To Use That Aren’t Working So Great Now?

Distraction/Numbness

Addictions

Stuffing/Ignoring

Body issues = IBS

Outbursts and Deal with Fallout

Relationship casualty

Staying Silent/Retreating/Hiding

Lack of connection to others/self

Note what’s missing here

…

Body and emotion strategies, yet effects on body and emotion.

Slide21

So What?Think about the information in the realms of:Decision making

Conversations and relationships

Living a full life?

Managing stress?

What do you think?

Slide22

Discussion Time5 minutes

Slide23

Discussion Time4 minutes

Slide24

Discussion Time3 minutes

Slide25

Discussion Time2 minutes

Slide26

Discussion Time1 minute

Slide27

So What?What do you think?

If

you can stay in all three brains, you will have the ability to fully process trauma/stress; integrate the

events

Western culture

–

usually only neck up

Cortex d

oesn’t function well when triggered

Roller coaster of 3 F’s and sometimes feeling ok

Increased anxiety/tension from being overwhelmed

Increased numbness from checking out

Technology anyone?

Slide28

To Consider:Key points:

Not about making it go away

–

“No Mud, No Lotus”

–

Thich

Nhat

Hanh

; “Inside Out” movie (

Chamary

, 2015).

Harmony

Practice

when calm

–

easier to access when activated

Practice every day

–

reflexive

Your choice

…

Slide29

Mind:Distraction

Mindful change of pattern (reframe): Joe

DiSpenza

https://

www.youtube.com

/

watch?v

=8l2nvTv9_Xw&t=

8s

Grass path: gives hope

Pay

attention to body instead and notice moment by moment

changes

Hexaflexercise

activity (ACT; Harris, 2017)

Misophonia

: know reaction doesn’t make sense = NCs

Hexaflex

helps

empower and refocus attention

Do something you haven’t done in a while to use a different part of the brain:

Phone a friend, sudoku, crosswords etc. (i.e. Virtual

Hopebox

application)

PTSD, anxiety, depression

Slide30

Body:Breath: Usually first resource (intake for client and self)

4 count breath

Sighing breath

Left/Right

breath

Light Stream

Imagination and visualization

Specific body location i.e. ball in throat

4 Elements

activity

General chronic discomfort

Specific trauma protocol but can use parts of it (or all) once used to it

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR/

Jacobsonian

Relaxation)

Beware injury!

Yoga

Note: You cannot maintain a trauma response in a relaxed muscle body! (Gentry &

Rhoton

, 2017)

Slide31

Emotion:Use the 5 senses:

Hearing

Music

–

especially with teens

Rain, Rain app

Touch

–

i.e. Garnet/Max

Smell

“It reminds me of

…

”

Memories, strong reactions

What emotion goes with that memory?

What happens in your body when you smell the scent?

Note: Scents can help us feel something different i.e. lilacs = happy childhood

More pure the

better (

Rago

, 2017)

Taste

Why do you think there’s such a thing as a food addiction? Because it accesses emotions.



Sight

Colors (i.e. Dawn/Aspire and grey)

Familiar

settings (i.e. driving to Cold Lake)

Calm Place activity

Slide32

To Ponder…Notice overlap

Explore what works best for you

Pick and choose what suits situation

Body reaction = body strategy

Emotion reaction = 5 senses

Mind reaction = distraction/use mind in a completely different way

Slide33

In Practice: Scents

Whatever tool depending on client needs

NOTE: I have no training in aromatherapy, choices come from client feedback and my own reactions

Self

-regulation with clients (emotion

strategy, Sacred Mountain, Lemon, etc.)

Grounding, Calm Place, Muscle tightness

“YES!” reaction

Self-regulation for me (Bergamot, Release, etc.

)

Space “feels” off (i.e. Jack’s and

Wilhauk’s

)

My own mood/body sensations

Samples +

Chalkboard (Thanks, Yvonne!)

Slide34

Activities: Calm Place and GroundingTake a moment to notice

where you are on a scale from 0-10

0 = meh (no activation)

10 = pulling out your hair, rocking and sobbing in a corner

AND body sensations (i.e. where your breath gets stuck)

Take a moment after to notice

Scale from 0-10

Body sensations

A shift of 1 is considered awesome!

NOTE: If you are already at a 0-1, think of something that was mildly annoying to you today or yesterday

Brings you to a 2-4 on scale

Questions?

Slide35

Calm Place

Place in adult life

Comfortable, calm, secure

Nature, home, or imagination

What do you:

See

Hear

Smell

Feel (touch)

Sense in body?

Slide36

Calm Place Con’t…

Tap/Butterfly Hug

Word/Phrase/Symbol

Practice

every day when calm

Building reflex

Slide37

Grounding

Pick an object

Hold in

hand

Can use scent as well if you prefer!

Two adjectives

–

to notice moment by moment experience

These can change with each pass

Word/phrase

Goes to heart/emotional center

Breath

Usually use sighing, but up to you

Use as needed

Slide38

Whew… You Made It!

Checklist of goals:

Toolbox of strategies you can

use

Understand

to use strategies that fit the symptom

Understand

brains are amazing, but sometimes they need help

too

Recognize

ways to tell if you

or someone you love needs

clinical help

Slide39

Questions?

Recordings and presentation

available

for ONE WEEK

at

www.dochaspsych.com

Contact Info:

Kim Long

Dochas

Psychological Services, Inc.

301, 131 First Avenue, Spruce Grove

www.dochaspsych.com

klong@dochaspsych.com

780-446-8634

To provide

feedback

, p

lease

go to https://

www.surveymonkey.com

/r/

T87TCN2 (the link is also on my website and Facebook page)

or please complete the forms on your tables

Slide40

References

Ahuja

, N.,

Myat

, W., Cervantes, A., Zahn, N. (

n.d.

)

Amygdala Hijack

. Retrieved from http://

neurosciencefundamentals.unsw.wikispaces.net

/

The+limbic+

System

American Psychological Association. (2017). The road to resilience.

APA Psychology Help Center.

Retrieved from http://

www.apa.org

/

helpcenter

/road-

resilience.aspx

Arber

, C., (2014). Post-traumatic stress and the brain.

Worthit2Be Me.

Retrieved from https://worthit2bme.com/post-traumatic-stress-the-brain

/

Burton

, I. (1990, March). Factors in urban stress.

Journal of Sociology & Social

Welfare. 17

(1), Article 5

.

Retrieved from http://

scholarworks.wmich.edu

/

cgi

/

viewcontent.cgi?article

=1928&context=

jssw

Chamary

, J.V. (2015, August 30). How

“inside out” explains the science of memory.

Retrieved from https://

www.forbes.com

/sites/

jvchamary

/2015/08/30/inside-out-science/#4c5123355184

DiSpenza

, J

. [

GlobalSchoolNet

].

(2012, August 21).

Three brains

–

Thinking to doing to

being

[Video file]

.

Retrieved from https://

www.youtube.com

/

watch?v

=8l2nvTv9_Xw&t=

8s

Fisher

, J. (2003).

Triune

Brain

[

PowerPoiint

Slide].

Retrieved from https://

i.pinimg.com

/736x/5c/4f/f0/5c4ff0143a1340eea15b0d2316b2bcec--

ptsd-

trauma.jpg

Fisher, J. (2016).

Working with the neurobiological legacy of trauma

[Video recording, course pack]. Jack Hirose and Associates.

Slide41

References

Gentry, E., &

Rhoton

, R. (2017, May 1). Certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP) intensive training course.

PESI.com

.

Retrieved from https://

www.pesi.com

/store/

onlinecourse

.

Harris

, R. (2017). The

Hexaflexercise

. [Audio recording]

Retrieved from http://

thehappinesstrap.com

/free-resources/

Heeken

, K., &

Polivka

, L. (2015, November).

Environmental and economic factors associated with mental illness.

Retrieved from: http://

coss.fsu.edu

/subdomains/

claudepeppercenter.fsu.edu_wp

/

wp

-content/uploads/2016/02/Environmental-and-Economic-Factors-Associated-with-Mental-Illness-

Manuscript.pdf

Jin

, J.,

Maren

, S. (2015). Prefrontal-hippocampal interactions in memory and emotion.

Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience

, 9(170). Retrieved from https://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

/

pmc

/articles/PMC4678200

/

Johnson, D. (2014, February 2). Edmonton public library’s Stanley A. Milner branch now sports three mood lights to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder.

EdmontonExaminer.com

.

Retrieved from http://

www.edmontonexaminer.com

/2014/01/29/edmonton-public-librarys-stanley-a-milner-branch-now-sports-three-mood-lights-to-combat-seasonal-affective-disorder

Slide42

References

Kwong

, M. 2015, March 5. Why winter brings us down but won’t for long.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

. Retrieved from http://

www.cbc.ca

/news/health/sad-science-why-winter-brings-us-down-but-won-t-for-long-

1.2981920

Lambert

, GW., Reid, C. Kaye, GM., Jennings, GL, &

Esler

, MD. (2002). Effect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain.

The Lancet.

Retrieved from: http://

www.thelancet.com

/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(02)11737-5/

fulltext

n.a

. (2013). Stress.

University of Maryland Medical Center.

Retrieved from http://

www.umm.edu

/health/medical/reports/articles/

stress

n.a

.(a). (2017). Emotions and memory.

Psychologists World.

Retrieved from https://

www.psychologistworld.com

/emotion/

emotion-memory-psychology#references

n.a

. (b)

(2017). Resilience.

Center on the Developing Child: Harvard University.

Retrieved from https://

developingchild.harvard.edu

/science/key-concepts/resilience

/

n.a

.

(c)

(

2017). Serotonin: What you need to know.

Healthline

.

Retrieved from https://

www.healthline.com

/health/mental-health/serotonin#overview1

Slide43

References

Rago

, R. (2017, December 7). Emotion on the

brain [Web log post].

Tufts University.

Retrieved from http://

sites.tufts.edu

/

emotiononthebrain

/author/rrago01

/

Rettner

, R. (2010, August 5). Brain’s link between sounds, smells, and memory revealed.

Live Science

Retrieved from https://

www.livescience.com

/8426-brain-link-sounds-smells-memory-

revealed.html

Siegel, D

. [Dr. Dan Siegel]

(2017, August 9).

Dr. Dan Siegel’s hand model of the

brain

[Video File]. Retrieved

from https://

www.youtube.com

/

watch?v

=f-

m2YcdMdFw

Steffensen

, T., (2010, September 30-October 3).

Trauma and the challenge of sexual addiction.

PowerPoint presentation at Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, Boston, MA.

Stress. (2017).

In

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11

th

ed.).

Retrieved from https://

www.merriam-webster.com

/dictionary/stress

.

Nhat

Hanh

Thich

. (2014).

No mud, no lotus: The art of transforming suffering.

Berkeley, California: Parallax Pr.

Wilcox, S. L.,

Veggeberg

, R.,

Lemme

, J.,

Hodkinson

, D. J.,

Scrivani

, S.,

Brustein

, R., Becerra, L., &

Borsook

, D. (2016, July 26). Increased functional activation of limbic brain regions during negative emotional processing in migraine.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

doi

: https://

doilorg

/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00366