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FEBRUARY 4, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Dr. Deb
What You Need to Get Through This By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.
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o matter which side of the political or medical aisle you happen to live on, it’s hard to get through the days. Unless, of course, you just don’t care. Which may be an option since there isn’t much we can do about either one. But assuming you do care, even a little, it’s been more than challenging. Add to that how the pandemic has affected our health, livelihood, and relationships. How can we get through it? • Breathe Simple, right? We breathe anyway. But – there’s that “but” – we generally breathe too fast. When we lose track of our breathing, it tends to come in short, shallow bursts that are the first indication of stress. For stress to overtake us, the process starts in the amygdala, a part of the brain that Bassel van der Kolk, the father of trauma research and repair, calls the “smoke alarm.” The amygdala is very sensitive, very reactive. It doesn’t take much to get it flaring up. It’s meant to be that way; this is not some kind of “kink” in the system. Being aware of a saber-toothed
tiger was the difference between life and death for early man. (That’s why one of the nissim of yetzias Mitzrayim was that there were no wild animals always ready to attack. There should have been, and we should have been petrified of them.) So, when we perceive what might be danger, the amygdala gets going. But here’s the interesting thing: a thought could stir up the amygdala as well. It seems that our brains can’t always tell the difference between an experience in the present moment and what we visualize. The amygdala warns the hypothalamus which, in turn, signals the pituitary gland, which then sends hormones to the adrenal glands. The amygdala also suppresses the cortex, the thinking part of our brain, by the way. (This is so we run or fight more quickly. We can’t afford to waste time thinking.) In turn, cortisol and adrenaline are released throughout our bodies from our adrenal glands. Adrenaline and cortisol give us energy by speeding up our heartbeat and blood pressure. Blood is sent to mus-
cles to run (from the saber-toothed tiger). Blood is also directed away from digestion, reproduction, and other non-essential parts of the body. (Yes, they’re essential in the long-term but not when you need to run or fight.) That is why long-term stress leads to digestive problems. It is perfectly normal to go over in one’s mind a problem that stresses us. That’s the way we try to figure out how to get out of the problem. But as you may have experienced, this method very often doesn’t work. All we do is stress ourselves some more. And we can’t seem to get our brains to stop thinking about the problem. When we over-stress ourselves this way, we can be in for a host of medical and emotional problems like diabetes, suppressed immune system, heart disease, obesity, even memory problems, anxiety, and depression. So how does breathing turn that around? When you breathe slowly and deeply, it stimulates the vagus nerve located above your diaphragm. In fact, the exhale is the important part of stimulating the relaxation response. The
part of the vagus nerve that is near the lungs picks up the message from your slowed breathing to signal the heart to slow down. A cascade of improvements takes place from there – reduced blood pressure, increased blood flow to the cortex, stomach, and other organs. Researchers suggest trying to simply take only six breaths for a minute instead of the usual 10 to 14. Just using that one minute to slow down breathing creates the relaxation response. Interestingly, this process also positively affects mood. It creates calmness, optimism, and energy. • Force Your Focus You know how they say don’t bring the cellphone to shul? Well, there’s a reason for that which goes beyond “it’s not respectful.” True, it’s not. But to whom isn’t it? Really, the answer is: to ourselves. There are huge benefits to forcing your focus on what is good, meaningful, positive, and helpful in your life and forcing them off of things that are toxic. I absolutely don’t believe you can do this step without the breathing, so go back to that if you haven’t yet. I remember decades ago when I was
