Covid Coping? The 5 Needs

If we could just get our thinking brains out of the equation! When shelter-in-place started, I was scared (Brain State 5) and did dozens of Cycles to process my emotions.

I kept coming back to my rewards, ranging from sanctuary when I felt good to authenticity when I had a meltdown or two. Now, after a couple of months of staying home, my mind is turning to the 5 basic needs of us humans.

Tonight, I had our dog Tammy on my lap, and although the day had been full of seeing a friend in distress, being late for my intensive group, tears about missing a loved one, and more, I realized that I was meeting all 5 of the needs, as directed by our brain – safety, love, comfort, pleasure, and purpose.

Not bad for weeks of sheltering-in-place. A few minutes of awareness of how meeting all 5 of them in one day is pretty special.

The more stressed we are, the more our safety drives come up, even though we may be perfectly safe. If we can clear that psychological stress, we can spiral up to ONE and be of purpose. We can use our energy to give back and be part of the solution. If we do not have EBT tools, it's a lot riskier. We may be at 5 for no reason other than being "EBT deficient" and cause ourselves a good deal of suffering. We may not have the peace and power from within to give back in just the way that fulfills us – and makes our life complete!

If you have not yet discovered EBT, please visit www.ebt. org and join in. We all need these skills right now to live a life of safety, love, comfort, pleasure, and purpose!

I'll go back to the couch with Tammy on my lap. At 70 pounds, she's a pretty big lap dog, but who's counting?