Nervous system mastery & even a splash of cathedral thinking !
Understanding how our own brain, body and mind interacts with the world is an ongoing process and of course individualised. Energy levels, sense of safety, purpose, our past, our genetics and so much more are playing out real time for each and everyone of us. No human being ever fully masters self awareness but we can always learn something new and this is a key component to nervous system mastery. The brains ability to change and adapt throughout our lifespan is the wonder of neuroplasticity. By exploring things like our behaviours, our triggers, our emotional responses we can find new ways to serve ourselves better and ultimately contribute to better brain health and thriving societies.
What appears to be a key factor in brain and societal health is immediacy. Collectively our attention spans are being challenged. Social media ‘feeds’ are doing just that feeding us and we are consuming at an exceptional rate. The 24/7 information or disinformation consumption means we are overloaded. But this is not just from scrolling, we have had years of email streams too. I was programmed to respond immediately or it would niggle me until it was dealt with!
Take a moment to think of the sensory load just in relation to screen/tech time. We are dealing with changes in light, shape, viewpoint, plus nuances such as our ability to blink so there is the constant management of motion of our eyes, head and body. All this takes energy. But more importantly think of the psychological and emotional demands all these streams, feeds and scrolling takes from us. Most notably how hypocrisy & trauma is now seen in real time and it is visible all the time. Food parcels being dropped by the same countries who supply the arms to inflict genocide. Climate change being ignored, elite sport funded by activities that are killing the planet. Individuals and organisations involved in people trafficking, sexual abuse and violence. Leaders & shareholders being paid well for failure.
We also have a proliferation of access to opinions and personal experiences. A few decades ago there would be a printed version of news that remained the same for 24 hours. Plus a newsreader telling us just once or twice a day the state of play, albeit partisan. Now history, human complexity, devastation and ambiguity is laid bare like never before. Such powerful stories and testimonies understandably demand change and justice. This individually and collectively takes its toll too.
But beyond our access to information and disinformation, could the speed and demand of our modern day in general, be directly or indirectly contributing to mental health issues? Lets just take a look at burn out. Burn out is predominately associated with chronic stress, often in the workplace but not always. The key elements are energy depletion /exhaustion, reduced professional effectiveness and feelings of cynicism or negativity towards the job/ or in general. Here are some potential elements at play:
Biology: remember the brain and body require energy to thrive, if we constantly deplete our batteries, burn out is more likely. Just like the planet, our energy consumption requirements are multifaceted, complex and interconnected.
Authenticity: what really underpins your own burn out ? There are many different factors, here are just a few examples: a default safety mechanism to people please, a fear of rejection or setting boundaries or perfectionist tendencies. I know personally I can relate to these examples and how they feed in to one another. Once again this highlights the importance of neuroplasticity, I can recognise these patterns and consciously choose to try manage them to my advantage or find a new approach. This certainly is not easy but incremental changes and an ongoing openness to try to learn from failure rather than fearing it has helped.
Purpose: mentally and emotionally humans need a sense of purpose, which is bigger than ourselves. Therefore in contrast to short-termism maybe we would benefit from reacquainting ourselves with cathedral thinking. In the Middle Ages cathedrals could require 200 years or more to complete. For example Notre Dame Cathedral was initiated by a generation that laid the foundations and then their children and subsequent generations would continue the work. In essence contributing to something in the present that will offer greatness in the future. Modern day equivalent examples could be ongoing collective building and nurturing of Wikipedia or exploring and understanding the solar system and beyond.
Burn out is not classified as a medical condition. It is crucial we remember that burn out is not a disease but a hallmark of the world we have constructed. Likewise think how many other mental and physical health challenges are linked to the environment? At its core humans are navigating an increasingly violent and contradictory world. Whether it is in a professional or personal capacity getting up close and personal with our biology and psychology can individually and collectively start to engender change. This in turn can support nervous system mastery, whereby we can understand and try to challenge unhelpful, counterproductive, short term actions or even inaction. Lets find a better way for our brains, bodies, minds and planet to thrive.