Group, mirror neurons and survival. Co-regulation.
Group, mirror neurons and survival. Co-regulation.
We are social beings, we need the group to survive, we cooperate and build civilisations.
Our brain can "read" the emotions of others because we need to perceive any alteration that could compromise our own survival. To do this, we have a specific network of neurons, called mirror neurons, which are activated to empathise and understand what the individual in front of us is feeling, to imitate and replicate it.
Stress, on the other hand, is an automatic, atavistic and unconscious physiological reaction to a threat to our life or personality.
As it is physical, it can be seen, it can be noticed. We clearly see the symptoms in a stressed person: raised shoulders, agitated breathing, sweating and all the non-verbal language expressing discomfort.
Our mirror neurons are activated to feel the same way. Just as if you see a yawn, you feel like yawning, if you see someone laugh, you laugh too; so we get stressed by the stress of others. We go into alert mode.
At the same time, the co-regulatory effect in the limbic system is activated. This is the tendency to synchronise breathing and heart rate with the people around us.
We don't just see it, we can smell it too. When we are stressed we exude hormones that are picked up by the sense of smell and that trigger the stress response. Stress is literally in the air.
If we do not master stressful situations at work, we will infect others, with serious consequences for the health and performance of all of us. Let us not forget that stress is above all a mental block, an inability to think.
Obviously it seems reasonable that a leader should know how to self-regulate and not contaminate his or her teams, just as it seems reasonable that the observer of a stressed individual should know how to transcend biology and remain calm.
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To this end, I propose to learn how to "manufacture a serenity pause".
With a simple, down-to-earth method that everyone can do in half a minute, even the most sceptical. With the body, the breath and the mind. In three steps.
It is a basic method, the approach is physical, not mental or psychological, it does not require training. You learn it and you wear it forever.
It is not mindfulness, it is not meditation.
The body is the ally of the mind 😉.
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Call me or write to me and I will explain it in detail.
#stressmanagement
#psychologicalsafety
#mentalhealth
#pausadeserenity
Sources:
Lisa Feldman Barrett Author of "Lessons about the Brain."
@José María Peiró. Professor of Work Psychology
Howard A. Friedman, Ph.D. and Ron Riggio, Ph.D. Nonverbal Interaction.
Heidi Hanna. Author of "Stressholic".
Daniel Goleman. Author of "Focus".