What Every Therapy Client Should Know 07 - Talk to Your Mammal Brain to Stop Negative Behaviors

Hi, everyone.  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar Channel and this is the seventh video in a series where I share information that I think EVERY therapy client should know.  In this video, I’ll talk about the two different kinds of change and the first step - breaking old behavior patterns.

In the last couple of videos, I’ve discussed how to create emotional safety -- both external and internal.  Emotional safety is the WD-40 that greases the skids to allow behavior change to happen.  And unfortunately, it isn’t a one and done thing.  In order to challenge your old habits and create new ones, you will inevitably feel discomfort and anxiety.  And every time you feel this, you will need to re-stabilize yourself either by co-regulating with someone else or regulating your own emotions and create safety within.

Let’s talk about the two different kinds of change: behavioral and developmental.  

• Behavioral change is just about acquiring a new habit.  For example, let’s say I decide that I want to start brushing my teeth after lunch every day.  Changing this habit is just a matter of remembering to do it -- or making the supplies available.  Emotional safety is not required for this kind of behavioral change because there is no element of emotional resistance.
• Developmental change is harder because this change will make you anxious or uncomfortable in some way.  So, an example of this might be getting rid of some clutter for someone who has hoarding tendencies or taking away chocolate for an emotional eater.  Even a small change will bring up anxiety.  The good news is that working through your discomfort and making small developmental changes is the muscle that pushes open your window of tolerance and each change builds upon the last.  This is the path to real personal growth.

So, all that is well and good, but how do you go about changing your behavior patterns?  Again, for developmental changes -- you need to talk to the emotional brain because it is the thing standing in the way of these changes.  

Let me give you another example.  Let’s say you know full well that you should be able to say “no” and set good boundaries, but somehow, when it comes to saying “no” to heading up that committee or taking on that extra assignment, you just can’t bring yourself to say it.  Now, your human brain can give you 10,000 reasons why that is ridiculous -- you should absolutely be able to say “no” -- but somehow your mammal brain is drenched with anxiety at the thought.  You can know it in your head, but not in your heart.  And that 12” from your head to your heart might be the longest road you’ll ever travel. 

Breaking Old Patterns

Before you can say "no", you have to stop yourself from saying "yes."  You have to stop your old patterns before you can replace them with new ones.  And because these are developmental changes, we need to apply a lot of emotional safety as we navigate these steps.  Again, an intellectual approach is not going to work here because you are dealing with your mammal brain.  So, how do you break negative behavior cycles with a scared puppy?

• Notice - so much of our actions and behavior patterns are just on autopilot.  We don’t even know how we are reacting most of the time.  So, the first thing is just to start noticing what we are doing and thinking.  Notice the patterns we want to be able to change.  The clinical term for this is Mentalization -- or thinking about thinking.  In fact, a lot of mindfulness training is really about noticing.  You can do this on your own, but it can be really helpful to have a trained therapist help to notice the patterns and behaviors you might want to change.  
• Slow down - Now that you are noticing your behavior patterns, in order to do something different, you need to slow WAY down.  Your routine behavior is like a speedway at this point.  If you want to take a different route, you need to slow down to find a way off the highway.  So, what does this look like?  In the middle of an argument -- take a break.  Just 5-10 minutes to cool down, notice your reactions, and come back to try something new.  Or how about this?  Instead of arguing in person, slow down by arguing over text.  Then, you can slow down and change the way you are responding in real time.  This is important for behavior change -- slow it down so that you can break the cycle.  Meditation is really just a combination of these last two elements -- noticing and slowing down with a healthy dose of acceptance thrown in.  
• Distract - this is maybe just another way to slow things down, but for cycles and reactions that happen too fast, distract, distract, distract.  We do this with dogs to distract them from barking at the mailman, quarreling with other dogs, or chewing on shoes.  Distract.  Habitual cycles go too fast, so one way to try to get off the speedway is to interrupt them with sensory input or another activity -- take a walk, name 5 things you can see, put a frozen bag of peas on your face.  These all distract from that fast cycle, AND help to get your footing emotionally before making a new decision. 
• Obstacles - Have you ever seen a puppy wearing the cone of shame?  This is to prevent licking a wound or chewing fresh stitches.  Put obstacles in place to make your bad habits harder to do.  There is a reason I don’t have Doritos in my cabinets -- I will eat them.  Choose a different route home if you are inclined to drive past your ex’s house.  Try not to attend committee meetings if you know there is going to be a lot of pressure to sign up for responsibilities.  Eventually, you shouldn't have to avoid these situations or triggers, but at least for now, as you are trying to change your habits, put up some obstacles.

Each one of these steps is going to bring up some discomfort, so you’ll need to regulate and apply emotional safety liberally -- every step that you make.  

Join me in my next video when I share the steps for convincing your mammal brain to try new developmental behavior patterns.  Let me know what you think!  Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching.