How the 90-second rule can help calm anxiety
CO-VID 19’s creating a lot of anxiety, fear, panic, uncertainty. We can use the 90-second rule to help calm ourselves and live a more balanced. life.
In 1996, Dr Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a rare stroke. As a scientist, she was able to observe the inner workings of her brain and make several discoveries. One of those insights led to the 90 second rule.
When a person reacts to something in the external environment, the body responds with a 90-second process and after that, any lingering emotion is the person’s choice to remain in that emotional loop. The body can react to the external stress, producing a flood of chemicals that we literally can observe and feel as they rush through the body — all in 90 seconds. Then it’s our thinking that keeps us hostage to those emotions. So often we get caught in the thoughts about the circumstances that then leads us to feelings that rise up the ladder of inference — disconnected to what is happening today.
But we can slow down, acknowledge feelings, label them and explore where it is coming from and what do you really need. We can learn to move deeper into our parts and develop a partnership with our brain, changing our mindset. It’s not always easy but becomes easier with practice. And life feels more peaceful, joyful and grounded.