Welcome to 2021.
For many a new year provides a sense of a new hope, a new change, and often a new resolution. Research has shown that around 50% of adults will make a new years resolution, but only about 10% will keep it.
Setting a resolution and keeping it can be a challenge. For me smaller daily goals is a more attainable way to change my habits for the better.
Over the break while engaging in my own personal mindfulness I was introduced to a topic that really intrigued and resonated with me. A topic that spurred me to do research and set a goal for myself regarding how I experience my emotions.
Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor a neuroscientist at Harvard, in her book My Stroke of Insight, talks about the concept that emotions only have a 90 second life span. She goes on to explain that after 90 seconds the chemical components dissipate from our blood and the automatic response of an emotion ends. For most this is not the end to experiencing the emotion. The reason for the continuation is due to the choices we make. If we let the emotion continue the neuro circuit the emotion created in your brain will continue to run. This is called, rumination. Rumination is defined as the endless loop of thoughts that keep feelings alive in the body.
We could spend a lot of time reviewing the ins and outs of this concept. It is fascinating and helpful to understand. But to make it the most understandable and relatable I want to focus on how to experience our feelings and let them go so that we may continue our mindfulness journey for ourselves and our students.
Researchers have discovered key components to how we can learn to feel an emotion for it's lifespan and then let it go. The most effective, mindfulness.
Mindfulness teaches us a way to witness our emotions without becoming entangled in the emotion. Mindfulness helps us evaluate our body's responses to help us evaluate if we are having a physiological experience or a psychological experience.
Evolutionarily, in order to survive, our ancestors needed their brains to have a strong connection to negative emotions. Due to this our brains continue to be wired to hold on to and react more quickly to negative emotions and experiences. We have to work to create positive neuro pathways. The more we allow our bodies to feel a feeling, the more neuro pathways we cerate to that feeling, and the easier it is to feel and respond to that feeling.
If we continue to allow negative feelings to dominate we will experience them more often due to the neuro pathways.
If we utilize mindfulness we can work to create new neuro pathways to serene, peaceful, happy, and calm feelings.
As our society has become more and more dependent on technology, our children have been experiencing more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and isolation (especially with the pandemic).
Teaching mindfulness is a way to help our children learn to witness their emotions, correctly identify what they are and where they are coming from, and then how to let them live for 90 seconds and let them go.
Help your student start the new year with a daily goal to take 5-10 minutes each day to focus on deep breathing, noticing emotions and their body's responses, and how they respond to the emotions. Encourage them to keep a journal and write down their findings; this will help them identify triggers to negative emotions and reactions to emotions.
Lastly, encourage some time outside; weather permitting. Researchers out of Stanford have found that spending time in nature reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and helps us quiet the noise outside to helps us better listen to the sounds inside. We can calm our bodies and brains and gain better insight into our feelings and emotions.
"Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."
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