Manning a vending table at a conference on a Friday night, I received the following text, “Everybody is safe, but the van has a problem,” followed by “It apparently rear ended a car full of teenagers. The radiator is leaking and it has a few bruises.” Thirdly, “We need to take it to the shop.” Can you say, STRESS?
I had an immediate full body response.
Mentally, I needed more information. Those 28 words in three text messages did not contain enough information for my detail driven dominant left hemisphere. Give me the details, darn it! (My hubby leads with his right hemisphere, which appreciates the big picture: “Everybody is safe.” Under stress, the right hemisphere often loses access to words. Hence, the more questions I texted, the shorter his answers became. “Should I come home?” “No.”)
Emotionally, I experienced tears of gratitude that the kids were not hurt. They were ok. In all honesty, I also felt other emotions including doubt, sadness, anger–was a sibling distracting the driver, was the driver dinging with the dials, how did this happen, who was at fault, why, Why, WHY?
Physically, I became very chilled; my hands and feet were like icicles. I was breathless. And as people stopped by the booth to talk, I discovered I couldn’t complete a sentence and I lacked coordination in demonstrating Brain Gym® movements. (For those that know the Elephant from Brain Gym®, imagine my arm flinging around searching for where my ear might live. haha)
Tools Used
I sat in Hook-ups. I paced in a Cross Crawl fashion. I guzzled an entire water bottle. I sighed a lot–it was reflexive breathing. I did my best to demonstrate movements. And I told my story-I expressed and shared my reality with complete strangers.
Driving home, I was hyper-vigilant. Everyone was in their bedrooms upon my arrival. Son #1 was blessed 😉 with a mommy moment as I jumped on the bed to give him a hug and tell him how glad I was that he was alive and ok. Son #2 met me at his door for a hug and the youngest was already sleeping. Then I crawled in bed to be reassured from hubby and gather more information. Shortly thereafter, everyone was asleep, but me.
stress = Adrenalin and Cortisol
I could physically feel the adrenalin and cortisol still coursing through my body. I was very awake even though I knew in my head that I needed to sleep. It was late and I was teaching two workshops the next day. What did I do? I prayed. I did Hook-ups. I breathed. I took two Cortisol Calm capsules. And finally, I got up and handwrote this blog. (Sometimes, journaling is a wonderful tool.) Afterwards, I was able to squeeze in six hours of sleep. Hormones, such as adrenalin and cortisol, affect us on many levels physically, emotionally, intellectually, etc…
A Blank brain Bug
The next day I was able to integrate my experience into the Learning Profiles workshop. How? Each of us leads with a particular eye, ear, hand, and foot, just like we each are hardwired for a preferred brain hemisphere. However, our profile can potentially change in a moment. In times of real stress, we may feel as if our senses are inaccessible; our brain bug may be “blank.” I was a perfect specimen of a blank bug on Friday night after learning that my kids were in a fender bender. My communication skills were absent. My coordination was lacking. I felt like my eyes and ears were on high alert, searching for danger. As far as which hemisphere was in charge, well, I don’t think there was one. I was not in my frontal lobes. I had retreated to a more survival oriented part of my brain.
Stress happens. It can be real, like a car accident. It can be perceived, like “I can’t….” The brain doesn’t discern between real and perceived but reacts with a stress response. Being able to recognize when we are in stress is the first step. Choosing how to support the move out of stress is next. (HINT: Move and breathe)
I love how life provides real-life stories when I teach.
