Characters
- Authors
- Emily: health educator
- Amelia: music, conductor
- Clients
- Julia: burnt out middle school teacher
- Sophie: black engineer
1: What you take with you
1: Complete the cycle
Motivation: cheese vs owl
more motivated with positive goal people with “cheese” reward completed mazes faster than those with threat of “owl”
Transclude of Glossary#^emotion
Transclude of Glossary#^wellness
Transclude of Glossary#^burnout
Stressor vs stress: attacked by cheetah
- cheetah: the stressor
- stress: body state
Problem with just dealing with stressor (lion)
- need to address both, stress doesn’t go away when the cause is gone
- chased & cheetah gets struck by lightning → still don’t feel good, still in physiological stress state
Why we get stuck in the stress cycle (2)
- chronic stressors
- stress (from job, family, …) eventually outpaces our capacity to handle it, de-stress
- being stressed is appropriate in our stressful culture
- catcalled by a dude → fighting back is dangerous
- can’t stop and meditate during a job interview
- can’t punch asshole client
2 scenarios when "Freeze" is evolutionarily useful for antelope around cheetah
- blend in: antelope sees cheetah → freeze to hopefully go unnoticed
- lower predator’s guard
- cheetah bites antelope’s neck
- antelope freezes, dissociates, feels less pain, falls down
- cheetah notices and fights hyena
- antelope sees chance and runs away
TODO: find what works
- usually have to step away from stressor and into body
Ways to complete the stress cycle
- 20 mins of exercise
- relaxation
- deep breathing
- progressive muscle relaxation
- positive social interaction
- eg: interacting with cashier
- verbal grounding
- narrating what’s happening
- describe 3 things in the room
- physical touch
- 6 second kiss
- 20 second hug
- laughter
- crying
- creative expression
How you know you've completed the cycle
- gear shift: able to pedal much more easily suddenly
2: Persist
The monitor
- What’s your goal
- your effort
- your progress
Stressors within your control: problem-solving
Out of your control: reframing
Redefine winning and failure
- choir: record the perfect song → make the producer smile
3: Meaning
-
MLK: “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you”