Oct 29 2024 12 mins 1
Why do we overreact?
Even when we know better.
We know it’s gonna piss someone off or upset the person in front of us, but our mouth takes a mind of it’s own and say the thing anyway.
The truth is, our brains have evolved to overestimate danger, loss, or rejection.
We’re a lot safer and more loved than our brain lets on.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk breaks the brain down into three parts:
The cook - takes in all the ingredients and cooks up a narrative.
The smoke detector - decides very quickly if the stress signals need to go off.
The watch tower - takes a higher viewpoint of the situation and has better discernment if the alarm signals need to go off.
The problem is, our watch tower receives the information from the cook slower, and it takes longer to process the narrative.
The watch tower might have better judgment, but our smoke detector beat it to the punch and we’ve already lashed out.
This awareness alone can help us tune into our watch tower more readily, along with taking a look into our past to understand why the smoke detector is so quick to signal danger.
PODCAST ROADMAP to stop losing your temper HERE
