The newscasters and expert guests were all confused tonight. They asked, "Where did we go wrong?" Whether it is gun violence, mental health problems, or epidemics of chronic disease, the neurophysiological root cause is the human brain in stress overload.
At EBT, we have a scientific answer: become stress literate and get brain-based skills to switch off the stress overload response.
In the table below, notice that there are five different brain states or "people inside us." All domains of life change with brain states, so there is an irrational person in all of us and, as well, a sensible person, too.
How do we control our brain state? The 5 Core Skills of EBT.
Stress illiteracy is pervasive
The human brain in Brain State 5 is the root cause of what ails us. Not only does that brain state bring out the extreme in us, but it radiates out and activates the worst in others.
There are five levels of stress in the brain, and at each level, a different brain area is in charge. At Brain States 1 and 2 there are no problems, just challenges, and at Brain States 3, 4, and 5, we see problems everywhere.
More aptly stated, at Brain State 5, we are the problem. Specifically, our brain is manufacturing problems faster than we can solve them and cognitive control is no longer effective.
Teach people how to spiral up
EBT has a unique role in societal stress and health problems: it rapidly shuts off the stress response in about two to three minutes. Just the way that in the 1990s, everyone learned CPR, EBT is the CPR of the 2020s.
Share your neuroscience awareness with others. If you are already a member of EBT, get more involved. If you are not, learn how to spiral up (there are five basic stress overload tools) and join our movement to bring stress literacy to all.
The human brain at Brain State 1 is the solution, and it will take people sharing EBT with others and inspiring them to learn how to spiral up to help the most. I hope you will join our movement and help.
For example, share your app with one person each day. Or, teach someone how to recognize their brain state. Share the Flow Tool with a child, and show them that they can turn stress into joy.
Couples are under so much stress now. Let friends and family who are experiencing strain in their relationships know about EBT. This is the ethos of EBT: people helping people help themselves. Please join in!