Reflective Arts for Calming the Nerves
If you’re feeling a lot of fear, stress, or pain in life, you’re not alone: Our world has been rapidly changing for many years now, challenging us on many levels of our existence. In this article, we’ll look at how these collective challenges may be affecting our brains. This is valuable because it helps to understand ourselves as animals who have developed physiological reactions to stress; though it is valuable to hold on to moral and strategic ideals for ourselves (that are required as social beings), understanding how our brains struggle to meet those ideals helps me have mercy for myself and others in times of great distress. It also helps me understand what I can do to support my brain’s ability to hold onto my values during hard times.
To start, it’s important to understand that different parts of the brain encourage different kinds of behaviors and decisions. Here’s two parts of the brain that don’t aways agree on how we should be doing things.
The Amygdala is a part of the brain that we share with all vertebrates1. It “is considered the “fire alarm. Once it senses danger, the amygdala is the part that kicks you into fight-or-flight mode.2” It is responsible for fast-acting decisions.
The Prefrontal Cortex is a part of the brain that’s especially developed in humans3. It “is the rational, decision-making area4” that supports self-control. It is responsible for well thought-out decisions that are able to take into account many different factors, including the needs of the future.
As you can imagine, the decisions that are made by the pre-frontal cortex don’t always look the same as those made by the amygdala. When we’re in high-levels of stress, the prefrontal cortex tends to be overridden by the amygdala, which is why decisions that are made in super-stressful times aren’t always the most beneficial for the whole of our lives, or the whole of life on Earth. Here’s how some of the challenges of the human condition effect the brain’s function:
Fear of Change: We have a natural fear of change that impacts the way our brain functions; “Fear of change is our brain’s natural way of reacting to new and unfamiliar situations…This fear comes from not knowing what to expect and worrying about our ability to cope with the outcome. It’s a basic survival instinct that helps keep us safe by encouraging us to stick to what we know.”5
Response to Grief: Grief (that comes as the result of significant loss) can cause prolonged states of stress; “our brains perceive traumatic loss as a threat to our survival. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed to preserve our survival, so anything perceived as a threat to [this] triggers a massive response from the brain that has repercussions for many regions of the body…We're accustomed to thinking of physical trauma as a threat, but serious emotional trauma has similar effects.6”
Response to Trauma: Trauma puts the brain into an acute state of flight or flight response.7 “for those living with trauma, research shows that the prefrontal cortex is less active. This suppression can slow down the learning of new information that could help you control your fear. Combined with an overactive amygdala, the prefrontal cortex can have a harder time overriding the fight, flight, or freeze response.8”
With all that in mind, it could be said that ongoing bombardment of changes and challenges in our world is creating a constant state of flight/flight response in many of us. This impacts us on both an individual and societal level by:
Prolonged states of depression and/or anxiety9.
To support us in these challenges, reflective art helps regulate the stress response (and mitigate its impact) in many ways, including: (Click on the links below to read more about the practice. Click on the footnotes for each link to read supportive articles)
Let’s do it, together 💗
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-022-00506-y#:~:text=The%20amygdala%2C%20or%20an%20amygdala,specific%20distribution%20patterns%20in%20chickens.
Ibid.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-021-01137-9#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20the%20PFC%20of%20rodent,and%20functionally%20exclusive%20%5B15%5D.
https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/the-science-behind-ptsd-symptoms-how-trauma-changes-the-brain#trauma-and-the-brain
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fear-of-change-phobia#overview
https://www.livescience.com/how-does-grief-affect-the-brain
https://www.bostontrials.com/how-trauma-changes-the-brain/#!/
https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/the-science-behind-ptsd-symptoms-how-trauma-changes-the-brain#trauma-and-the-brain
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037#:~:text=But%20when%20stressors%20are%20always,almost%20all%20the%20body's%20processes.
https://centericc.com/fight-flight-or-freeze-maintaining-connection-through-conflict/#:~:text=What%20Causes%20the%20Fight%2C%20Flight,threatening%20than%20they%20actually%20are.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/love-lies-and-conflict/202301/your-fight-or-flight-reflex-and-your-relationship#:~:text=Key%20points%20*%20Our%20fight%2C%20flight%2C%20or,can%20lead%20to%20withdrawing%20or%20shutting%20down.
https://hbr.org/2015/12/calming-your-brain-during-conflict
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-role-of-the-amygdala-in-human-behavior-and-emotion-7499223
https://heartmindonline.org/resources/10-exercises-for-your-prefrontal-cortex
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/comfort-of-gratitude/202009/gratitude-and-its-impact-on-the-brain-and-body#:~:text=The%20amygdala%20is%20an%20almond,3.
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Putting-Feelings-Into-Words-Produces-8047
https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2023/atp-nature-and-the-brain#:~:text=A%20study%20using%20functional%20neuroimaging,restored%E2%80%9D%20and%20having%20improved%20attention.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36059042/#:~:text=Our%20findings%20reveal%20that%20amygdala%20activation%20decreases,measure%20against%20mental%20strain%20and%20potentially%20disease.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11480958/#:~:text=On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20the,arts%20for%20enhancing%20emotional%20wellbeing.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2921311/#:~:text=The%20authors%20concluded%20that%20the,lead%20to%20feelings%20of%20detachment.&text=In%20contrast%20to%20low%20social,children%20with%20serious%20medical%20illnesses.&text=Strong%20social%20support%20has%20been,increasing%20the%20likelihood%20of%20recovery.&text=Further%2C%20the%20risk%20of%20developing,low%20levels%20of%20social%20support.