Old Brain versus New Brain

When I am in old brain it feels like this:

My brain is scattered and my body is not a happy camper.

I end up in fight, flight, freeze or fawn. Mostly freeze on the outside and flight on the inside.

Sometimes it is like:

In the WW world (weight watchers) they refer to this kind of state as the hot state. It is when decision making is difficult. Then we do things we might not otherwise do.

In the last little while I have been flipping between old brain and new brain. My body goes into and out of fight, flight, freeze or fawn. I am aware of how sometimes tiny things put me there. As an example, I was out purchasing supplies to help my sister with a task last week and when I came out of the store the receipt blew out of my hand. It was taken by the wind,, and I began to panic. I felt anxiety in my body and a level of stress that was not reasonable. I began looking for the receipt under cars, on the ground and I was running from here to there. I called my sister who helped me to regulate. Just hearing my sister's voice brought calm, her tone and her reassurance was welcoming. A really nice man also helped me to look for the receipt. We found it stuck to the hood of a car in the snow. My anxiety left almost immediately. However, it took time for my body to regulate. I thanked the man then I took time to breathe and self-soothe before I headed off to drop the supplies off to my sister.

In the WW (weight watchers) world people sometimes go to similar places when they don't get the results they are looking for on the scale. They give up and eat a ton of food, or over-correct by eating a lot less food and then feeling hungry. A lot of people are able to be in new brain or what is known as the cold state in WW (weight watchers) world and just keep on moving on.

I have been what one would call a sporadic weigher. In the beginning of journey towards living my best life I weighted myself once a year. Every November 4th. I was introduced to a technique at WW (weight watchers) on the scale and I began daily weighing. What I know is I now have more data than before which I record each day. My data looks like a heart beat up close and when I have enough data....that is on the 4th of November this year.....2023, I will have been successful in losing more weight. I know this because I like many others keep on moving on and engaging in all my healthy habits.

When I am in New Brain I am able to juggle many things. To be honest, I am not literally able to juggle objects yet! However, mentally I am able to create magic as I continue to dream my life into fruition.

I am able to take....

I am able to problem solve and live my values much more efficiently.

I am aware that I can go to old brain quite easily. I have strategies like hand on chest, hugging myself, reminding myself I am safe and in the Weight Watchers world that everything is just data.

I have SMART goals set up for myself, daily routines and I connect with people on a regular basis. This helps me live the best life I can live.

Yesterday, was a difficult day after a difficult week. However, I am committed to publishing my blog once per week on a Thursday morning. So hope you enjoyed the beginnings of the journey in the world of new brain and old brain. Next week I hope to be in New Brain and bring further reading on what has been such an important learning in my own life. I am including some resources to fill in the missing pieces!

Yesterday, after a couple of on-line meetings with my peeps I ended my day with...

and a nice hot

Resources:

The Three Main Parts Of Your Brain by Dr. Russ Harris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CpRY9-MIHA

Old Brain New Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBBZRsM3xB0

An Introduction to CFT 2: Old Brain New Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb0DkdCNQ9g

The Flight, Fight, Freeze response https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q

Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Understanding Your Stress Responses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP6SXMr-6_g