Don't let the lizards grind you down

*Warning: Long, possibly boring science stuff ahead. Also lizards.*

I met with the counselor on campus today and I was in there for about an hour and I feel like I really learned a lot of good techniques to get a better handle on my bad mind thoughts. What I really appreciated was that he explained the science behind it all. I'm an academic and you can't just tell me to do a thing. I need to understand the mechanics and the "why" of it all. It was very enlightening.

There are three evolutionary layers of the human brain: The reptilian brain is the oldest of the three and controls most of our basic functioning (breathing, heart beat, etc.). The mammalian brain is responsible for emotions, making basic decisions and behaviors, and recording memories. Finally the neocortex is what separates us from most other living beings. It allows for higher level thought processes, language, and development of complex skills.

When we are relaxed, we hang out in the neocortex and we are capable of thinking through situations calmly and logically. During this time, the primitive reptilian part of the brain is just there if we need it for emergency purposes. It's breathing for us and regulating our heartbeat but it isn't helping us make decisions (and we wouldn't want it to). However, when we experience situations that cause anxiety (like getting on the ice for a competition), the primitive part of our brain takes over and causes us to respond with fight or flight. Our heart rate increases and so does our breathing (which we will now do through our mouth instead of our nose). With all of this, our fine motor skills go completely out of the window and we may not be as precise with our movements as we would want. We are basically a dumb lizard. The jumps you have landed in practice might fall at competition because you are now at this heightened state of being and your muscles and reflexes aren't reacting in a way that you are used to. You are no longer capable of thinking through the parts of your program or listening to the music to express yourself appropriately. You are now simply trying to get through it and survive. Your reptile brain just does what it needs to get you out of that situation as quickly as possible. Quality is gone. Lizards are not the best ice skaters.

So, since this is such a bad outcome and will likely result in a messy program, your goal is to stay in the neocortex part of the brain where you are capable of being present and aware of the things around you. You are in "the zone" and can feel the music, adjust for mistakes logically, and fully express emotions while performing skills. Dumb lizards can't do this but humans can! However, you can't just tell yourself that you will stick to neocortex level thinking. You can't just think positively (although that helps). But, there are ways to trick the brain into thinking it's fine even though all of the negative thoughts hang over you like a cloud and lizards are banging at the door trying to force their way in.

Paul hooked me up to a biofeedback machine that measured my heart rate. It also had a color spectrum (green for normal and blue for relaxed) that gave me more of a visual for how my body was reacting to physical or emotional stimuli. I had a good heart rate and I was in the green. This is fine for everyday activities. He then showed me a breathing technique: breathe in through the nose for five seconds, release through the mouth for five seconds. Do this five times. My color spectrum was a beautiful shade of blue! My heart rate was also slower and more consistent. Best of all, I felt light like nothing could bother me! He explained that when we breathe in through our nose, we are stimulating the amygdala (which helps us process emotions) and because we are doing this slowly, our heart rate is relaxed and we retain logical thought ("my body is trained for this" "I know how to land this jump"). Since we are not tense, we don't lose our fine motor skills and we are better able to trust that our body knows what to do. So, if I do this breathing exercise right before I take the ice, I will stay in that neocortex part of my brain which is exactly where I want to be when I'm going through my program.

He also showed me a really nice grounding technique that acts like a shield against outside stress and he showed me how standing in a victory pose (basically you are the shape of an uppercase Y) for a few minutes will tell your body that you are successful. It seems silly but he says there are studies that show that it is effective.

So yeah, it was really helpful! Now that I know that there are actual things I can control that will get me out of my head, I feel a little more confident. I'm not so scared of myself. He says that if I practice this, like anything, it will become second nature so that when I find myself in anxiety inducing situations, I won't go right away into "lizard mode" but will instead go automatically into "calm breathing and logical thought mode."

Science is neat!