Our ancient brain seems to be wired to support moderated to high levels of threat as long as natural processes occur that allow the drop of the altered state within a short period of time to support self-regulation.
In fact, some scientists argue that moderate levels of brief stress are actually necessary for the well-functioning of the plastic and adaptive brain and to build resilience.
On the other hand, chronic or long-lasting exposure to stress, challenge the systems and processes that maintain the balance and might cause physiological and psychological damage.
In the 1990’s Neuroscientist Peter Sterling proposed a model called “allostasis”, which establish that when environments are relatively stable and predictable, thriving would be achieved by trying to restore the original values; however when environments are unpredictable, uncertain and facing continuous changes, efficient regulation requires anticipation and an optimal predictive fluctuation can only be obtained by previous exposure and learning mechanisms, for example exposure to brief moderated to high levels of stress.
One of the most interesting facts we have found in brain research is that human brain seems to be wired to function well under short cycles of high then low levels of cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline and other hormones or neurotransmitters as it helps us to adapt, build resilience and to thrive under uncertainty.
In current environments we need to artificially re-create the “high and lows” of our neurobiology for the brain to be able to predict and anticipate the “error”. We need to expose ourself to stress and allow time to re-set.
It is in the “valleys” and in the “reset” that the brain find adaptation.
The good news is we can make very practical interventions to make our neurobiology to work for us and help us thrive under uncertainty.
For example, we can create habits for going out of our comfort zone during a short period of time, or we can create daily habits that support the “lows” as for example spending 10 minutes daily consciously jumping into day dreaming.
The 8 dimensions of PEPE© model are designed to provide in a structured way practical strategies to help thriving during uncertain times.
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