Famous Minds
This Olympic gymnast withdrew from several events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, describing what gymnasts call the “twisties” and emphasizing her mental well-being.
Who is Simone Biles?
True or false: A boundary is clear on what you will OR will not allow another person to do?
What is false? A boundary identifies what I will do in response to a situation.
This is the brain's ability to change, reorganize, and form new neural connections throughout life.
What is neuroplasticity?
Before you can name an emotion, your body may already be giving you clues. Name three physical signs that could tell you your stress level is rising.
What are muscle tension, increased heart rate, shallow breathing, sweating, clenched jaw, upset stomach, restlessness, etc.?
The situation, person, thought, or event that causes your body to activate a stress response is called this.
What is a stressor?
This singer has publicly discussed being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has advocated for mental-health awareness.
Who is Mariah Carey?
“I need some time to think. I want to come back to this conversation tonight.” Is this automatically avoidance?
What is no?
Taking space with an intention to re-engage can be healthy regulation.
Something happening in the present reminds your nervous system of a painful past experience and creates a strong emotional reaction.
What is a trigger?
This grounding technique uses sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste to bring your attention back to the present moment.
What is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique?
The stressful situation may be over, but your body can still be experiencing this.
What is the stress response?
This actress from a galaxy far far away has spoken openly about her experiences with bipolar disorder and addiction recovery.
Who is Carrie Fisher? (princess Leiah)
Someone agrees to something they don't want to do because they're afraid the other person will be disappointed or angry. What trauma/stress response can sometimes look like excessive people-pleasing?
What is fawning?
A person who is angry discovers that underneath the anger she feels rejected, embarrassed, and afraid. In this example, anger is often described as what type of emotion?
What is a secondary emotion?
This internal system constantly takes in information about safety and threat and can activate physical responses before you consciously recognize what you're feeling.
What is the nervous system?
Exercise, crying, laughter, affection, and deep breathing can all help the body do this after experiencing stress.
What is complete the stress cycle?
This actor has discussed living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and his fear of germs/contamination making him famous for always giving fist bumps
Who is Howie Mandel?
“I’m sorry you feel that way” contains the word sorry, but it is often missing this important element of a genuine apology.
What is accountability/ownership?
A person consistently explains painful thoughts or emotions through logic and analysis rather than actually experiencing the feelings connected to them. What defense mechanism are they using?
What is intellectualization?
Shaking out tension, intentionally releasing clenched muscles, stretching, and using movement to process an emotional response are examples of this body-based approach.
What are somatic practices/techniques?
Your stressful workday ended hours ago, but you're still irritable, tense, and unable to settle. This illustrates the difference between eliminating the stressor and doing what?
What is dealing with/completing the stress response?
This NBA player publicly described experiencing a panic attack during a game and later wrote about his experiences with anxiety and depression.
Who is Kevin Love?
Turn this attempt at a boundary into an actual boundary:
“You need to stop yelling at me.”
“If you continue yelling, I’m going to end the conversation and we can try again when we’re both calmer.”
A woman intellectually understands that she is safe, but her body continues reacting as though the danger is still present. Why doesn't simply “knowing better” always stop a trauma response?
Because the nervous system can respond automatically to perceived threat before conscious reasoning catches up.
A person isn't highly activated. Instead, she feels numb, disconnected, exhausted, and says, “I don't feel anything.” This illustrates an important truth: dysregulation doesn't always look like anxiety or agitation. What type of nervous-system response might this represent?
What is shutdown/freeze (hypoarousal)?
Unlike a stressor you can see or remove, worrying about the future, replaying a past event, or imagining the worst can activate the stress cycle without an immediate external threat. These are examples of what type of stressor?
What are internal stressors?