In the Age of the Thinking Brain, we all coped in ways that took a lot of brain power, analysis, and effort. Now that stress levels are so high that our emotional brain is in charge, we have a very distinct benefit: coping has become easy.
A new beginning: psychology is rooted in biochemistry
How could that be? All psychology is rooted in biology; specifically, if we are under stress (physiological Brain States 3, 4, and 5), we can't help but feel a little grouchy, anxious, and glum. Maybe we're a tad reactive. Sure, we could try breathing deeply, forcing ourselves to change our thinking, or strategizing with gusto to avoid the myriad of triggers life tosses our way.
That's so out of date. Now, we know that biochemistry drives us and that we can turn the tables and drive our biochemistry naturally without drugs or therapy. I like that choice because I want to conserve my energy. I have grandchildren to spend time with, a husband who likes spending time with me, and I want time to have fun and play. Asking myself to do ANYTHING when I am in a stressed biochemical state is such a waste!
Turn stuck harmful chemicals into a flow of healing chemicals
We no longer have to go up against all those chemicals – dopamine, cortisol, insulin, serotonin, and more. That feeling in my body of that wall of emotional sludge is heavy, negative, and not at all fun. If you have an EBT Practice, you know that you are always one spiral up away from being at Brain State 1. The healing chemicals kick in and turn grouchy into agreeable, anxious into secure, and glum into kick-up-your-heals happy.
The table below shows that getting to Brain State 1 with all those joy chemicals flowing impacts all domains of life in positive ways that are both meaningful and significant.
Before 1980, when increased shared stress levels started overpowering cognitive control, we probably could think our way out of problems. The stress chemical overload did not sideline the fancy footwork needed by the thinking brain to negotiate feeling bombarded with bad news, overwhelmed by the speed of change, and reeling from the biologically driven, stress-induced extremes in the world today.
We needed a new paradigm: the emotional brain delivered it
Given the perfection of the emotional brain, there is always an essential pain (loss) and an earned reward (gain) so that those of us who like to be in complete control (isn't that everybody?) can relax. We have more stress now, but instead of working harder to think our way to peace, we say, "Enough already! There MUST be a better way!"
The better way to cope has a new energy about it. Let's be good consumers of how we process life. Why not scoff at cognitive control—as if it were a color palette from the 1980s—and instead embrace emotional control? With our new app, we have three Spiral Up options. Use the one that suits your fancy, use it to radically alter your biochemistry, and return to that joyful person in a flow state that you were meant to be.
Our amazing genes and emotional innovation make it work
The science of the emotional brain gives us the reassurance that security is baked into our genes. When the world takes something away from us, it returns far more if we are willing to make some small adjustments and appreciate the good that is available to us. We are in a stress pandemic now, and I wouldn't sign up for that, but given that reality, learning that we all have a way to stress-protect ourselves built into our brains is a relief.
With EBT, we can now order the "prescription" of joy we want and activate optimal biochemical surges on demand. Twenty years ago, we didn't need that ability, nor did we have it. Then, just as stress was overwhelming all of us, what drops into our lap is a neuroscientific emotional technology, EBT, to turn that stress into joy and to do it with grace and ease.
Update from cognitive control to emotional self-control
With EBT, you can set aside all those lists of coping strategies and celebrate what your emotional brain can accomplish quite naturally. Updating from cognitive control to emotional control in daily life is pretty simple. Keep track of one thing—your physiologic brain state.
Ask yourself, "Am I in joy?" If the answer is "not so much," you know what to do. Spiral up and return to joy. It's a great way to live and perfect, even essential, for our times!