The good news about flooding (DW#466)
Last week we started talking about flooding (aka emotional hijacking) and how it shuts down our thinking brain and can lead us to behave in ways that we later regret.
Although it is very uncomfortable and a potentially destructive state of mind, there is one very good piece of news about flooding: It only lasts about 6 seconds.
Yes. Six seconds.
So when we encounter an event which is emotionally triggering for us, we can practice waiting six seconds before responding.
Pausing for six seconds gives the rational brain a chance to process the sensory information. It allows the thinking brain to put the breaks on the alarm set off by the amygdala reacting to an outside stressor. It allows us to respond based on our values rather than react based on our heated emotions at the time.
So take a breath and start counting . . .
1001 . . . 1002 . . .1003 . . . 1004 . . . 1005 . . . 1006
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