Cami Rosso
The Future Brain
Another Way to Bounce Back From the Pandemic
Neuroscience suggests that we can bounce back from negative emotions.
Posted May 03, 2021
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Reviewed by Lybi Ma
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Source: Photo by Sergei Markovic on Unsplash
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on, finding a way to relate to it and bounce back from it is increasingly hard. Even though we know it is a challenging time, we also know how to bounce back in a similar way to help our health and well-being.
Bouncing back means practicing a mind-body connection. That is, connecting to our mind and body for a brief time, then returning to our original intention or state.
For example, imagine that Chad has been stressing about the missing his family's holiday decorations and is trying to push himself back into the past when he gets home.
If Chad physically chooses the “wrong” response (a negative feeling or a physical symptom) for this emotion (a negative feeling or a physical symptom), he could unintentionally revert to the mental state of anger and frustration with a higher chance of success.
This is how Chad feels about missing his family's holiday decorations:
“I am going to get angry with myself right now. I am going to feel horrible. I am going to feel ashamed of everything I am going to have done.”
This is how Emily feels about missing her music class:
“I am going to be late. I apologize for the inconvenience. I know that everyone is just being stingy.”
–Emily Morsella, MD, Ph.D.
Anger Management
Do You Have a Hard Time Being With Your Anger?
Good news: You don’t have to be a sociopath to experience the sometimes painful, often marvelous benefits of having an angry personality. After all, you aren’t the kind of person who…
• Pays attention to and recognizes nuance with people and expresses anger with someone else’s words and actions
• Doesn’t tolerate hate or hostility toward others or toward you and your family
• Can recognize and shake the negative, usually unconscious, feeling of anger
• Can recognize and contain yourself when anger becomes physically necessary
• Gives appropriate permission and doesn’t take unauthorized action
• Says you are doing the best you can
• Is committed to healthy behaviors, even if it’s difficult to admit or aren’t working through a personal problem
• Is actively doing things to gain the necessary self-compassion, often done through gratitude
• Can recognize and give appropriate permission for difficult tasks to be completed, despite obstacles or objections
• Is willing to learn and practice new skills to improve the abilities you already have and to bring more to life in difficult situations
• Is committed to trying to devote more time to meaningful and meaningful activities in life, even if it’s difficult to admit or aren’t working on a personal problem
• Is proactive about setting and receiving small, realistic, concrete, actionable steps toward achieving your life’s phases and making small and concrete choices about them
Some Ideas to Consider:
Be willing to ask for help and for how-to guides and self-care.
Consider the perspectives, goals, and plans for taking action, whether this involves shopping for groceries, coloring, baking, preparing healthy foods or actually having sex.
Identify and label emotions—avoidance, anger, sadness, desperation, or fear—and switch to action steps as needed.
Consider the smallest things that could be accomplished or planned.
Assess if running, juggling kids, or simply walking are viable activities; evaluate if those activities, when taking breaks and staying stationary, are viable activities for the majority of people or what feels the most comfortable right for you.
What Is Needed for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
In the therapy room, I ask a question: What are the essential ingredients for acceptance?
For example, sometimes a white person who feels white might want to talk about it. Sometimes a shopping white person might want to try online shopping. Often a person who feels black is more likely to have a conversation at a black woman’s dinner Party.
We often ask questions for things like eating preferences, what one wants or not wants from the relationship, and other similar things.