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Stop Stress in 22 minutes Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute
Stress is natural
It’s a spurt of
 the hormone “cortisol”
Cortisol helped our ancestors respond to threats
Cortisol = pain and
 the expectation of pain
Expectations are connections between neurons built from past pain
Your brain is very good at anticipating threats because your past pain built neural pathways
Cortisol works by making you feel bad, which motivates you to act fast to relieve it
Your body eliminates cortisol in 20 minutes
Unless you do something to trigger more during that time
Usually we do trigger more because cortisol tells your higher intelligence to look for evidence of threat
And your brain is skilled at finding threat signals when it looks
You can end up in a bad loop
1 minute of self-acceptance 20 minutes of distraction 1 minute of action planning To free yourself from that awful cortiso...
- Accept the reality of your feelings (don’t deny your stress) - Accept that you perceive a threat (don’t fault yourself f...
- Don’t look for evidence
 of threat while your cortisol is flowing - Find a pleasant or neutral distraction (something wit...
- Action relieves cortisol - A plan of action relieves cortisol if you believe in your plan - Spend one minute believing i...
What if it’s a real emergency?
It always feels like a real emergency because cortisol evolved to work that way
Your brain confuses pain with the expectation of pain
The electricity in your brain flows like water in a storm, finding the paths of least resistance
Cortisol is like paving that turns a neural trail into a superhighway
Anything that turned on your cortisol in the past built a real physical pathway, which wires you to turn on the bad feelin...
You will keep repeating your old stress response until you build a new pathway
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You can learn to accept your cortisol surges instead of believing th...
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute All animals have cortisol, even fish
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You may think this lizard is happily enjoying the sun,
 but it is su...
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute It’s on high alert because a predator can eat it alive as long as it...
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute So it spends its whole life running between the threat of being out ...
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute And it’s brain is perfectly designed for the job!
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Running from pain is the job your brain was designed for.
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute A big human brain has extra power to find and anticipate threats
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute We create abstract mental images of potential future threats instead...
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute We successfully prevent threats by anticipating them
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute SOCIAL THREATS complicate things
Mammals rely on social support for protection from threat
So a threat to your social support is a survival threat to your mammal brain
Potential threats to your social support are everywhere
When a big human cortex is connected to a mammal brain, you can end up with a lot of cortisol
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute But the cortisol is metabolized and gone in 20 minutes unless you tr...
Distraction diverts electricity from your old threat circuits so you can take a fresh look at things
What distraction
 can you use?
- It’s hard to find something that feels good but doesn’t have bad side effects - And won’t lead to frustration - Something...
Then make your one-minute action plan
Collect info about a perceived threat Express your concerns in new ways Plan steps toward a solution Possible actions:
Inaction feels awful when your mammal brain says “do something fast.” But rushing into the old familiar action hurts you i...
You can’t solve everything in one minute but you can choose a next step and build confidence in it.
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You will build a new pathway for the electricity in your brain to flow
You will teach your brain to EXPECT to feel safe
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You’ll be glad you did
Habits of a Happy Brain Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin Beyond Cynical
 Trans...
learn more InnerMammalInstitute.org dopamine serotonin oxytocin endorphin
more…
Accepting stress as a natural learning tool will improve your life significantly
Cortisol gives you the freedom to explore and still be safe
In the hours after a stressful experience, your brain builds new wiring so you can avoid similar threats in the future
Stanford Professor Kelly McGonigal researches the benefits of embracing stress instead of running from it. Here are 3 simpl...
1. View stress as evidence that you have a meaningful life, not as evidence that you have a flawed life.
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute 2. View stress as energy you can use, not as a debilitating afflictio...
3. View stress as a free high-performance training program that strengthens you rather than weakens you.
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute If you believe you need to escape stress, you are more likely to eng...
If you believe you can manage stress, you will avoid self- destructive behaviors
Your brain will build a new habit
Stress is as natural as pleasure
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute one more thing
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
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Stop Stress in 22 Minutes

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Your brain is always picking and choosing its information because the world floods us with more detail than we can process. Your brain zooms in on bad news and threat signals when your cortisol is turned on. A bad loop results: you feel threatened so you find evidence of threat, which leaves you feeling more threatened and more disposed to find evidence. Here's how to escape from that loop.

Published in: Self Improvement
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Stop Stress in 22 Minutes

  1. 1. Stop Stress in 22 minutes Loretta Graziano Breuning, PhD Inner Mammal Institute
  2. 2. Stress is natural
  3. 3. It’s a spurt of
 the hormone “cortisol”
  4. 4. Cortisol helped our ancestors respond to threats
  5. 5. Cortisol = pain and
 the expectation of pain
  6. 6. Expectations are connections between neurons built from past pain
  7. 7. Your brain is very good at anticipating threats because your past pain built neural pathways
  8. 8. Cortisol works by making you feel bad, which motivates you to act fast to relieve it
  9. 9. Your body eliminates cortisol in 20 minutes
  10. 10. Unless you do something to trigger more during that time
  11. 11. Usually we do trigger more because cortisol tells your higher intelligence to look for evidence of threat
  12. 12. And your brain is skilled at finding threat signals when it looks
  13. 13. You can end up in a bad loop
  14. 14. 1 minute of self-acceptance 20 minutes of distraction 1 minute of action planning To free yourself from that awful cortisol feeling, do this when it comes:
  15. 15. - Accept the reality of your feelings (don’t deny your stress) - Accept that you perceive a threat (don’t fault yourself for seeing it) - Accept your urge to “do something” to relieve it (don’t act yet but accept your feelings of urgency) #1 Accept
  16. 16. - Don’t look for evidence
 of threat while your cortisol is flowing - Find a pleasant or neutral distraction (something without harmful long-term consequences) - Don’t do anything that might frustrate you and trigger more cortisol #2 Distract
  17. 17. - Action relieves cortisol - A plan of action relieves cortisol if you believe in your plan - Spend one minute believing in your ability to act in a way that makes you safe #3 Act
  18. 18. What if it’s a real emergency?
  19. 19. It always feels like a real emergency because cortisol evolved to work that way
  20. 20. Your brain confuses pain with the expectation of pain
  21. 21. The electricity in your brain flows like water in a storm, finding the paths of least resistance
  22. 22. Cortisol is like paving that turns a neural trail into a superhighway
  23. 23. Anything that turned on your cortisol in the past built a real physical pathway, which wires you to turn on the bad feeling again whenever you see anything similar.
  24. 24. You will keep repeating your old stress response until you build a new pathway
  25. 25. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You can learn to accept your cortisol surges instead of believing they are real emergencies
  26. 26. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute All animals have cortisol, even fish
  27. 27. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You may think this lizard is happily enjoying the sun,
 but it is surging with cortisol
  28. 28. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute It’s on high alert because a predator can eat it alive as long as it’s out in the open It would rather hide under a rock, but it would die of cold if it did
  29. 29. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute So it spends its whole life running between the threat of being out in the open and the threat of being under a rock
  30. 30. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute And it’s brain is perfectly designed for the job!
  31. 31. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Running from pain is the job your brain was designed for.
  32. 32. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute A big human brain has extra power to find and anticipate threats
  33. 33. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute We create abstract mental images of potential future threats instead of just waiting until a threat is right there
  34. 34. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute We successfully prevent threats by anticipating them
  35. 35. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute SOCIAL THREATS complicate things
  36. 36. Mammals rely on social support for protection from threat
  37. 37. So a threat to your social support is a survival threat to your mammal brain
  38. 38. Potential threats to your social support are everywhere
  39. 39. When a big human cortex is connected to a mammal brain, you can end up with a lot of cortisol
  40. 40. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute But the cortisol is metabolized and gone in 20 minutes unless you trigger more
  41. 41. Distraction diverts electricity from your old threat circuits so you can take a fresh look at things
  42. 42. What distraction
 can you use?
  43. 43. - It’s hard to find something that feels good but doesn’t have bad side effects - And won’t lead to frustration - Something boring works if it absorbs your attention. - Be prepared with a variety of tools.
  44. 44. Then make your one-minute action plan
  45. 45. Collect info about a perceived threat Express your concerns in new ways Plan steps toward a solution Possible actions:
  46. 46. Inaction feels awful when your mammal brain says “do something fast.” But rushing into the old familiar action hurts you in the long run. You can figure out a next step that’s just right when you’ve freed yourself from cortisol.
  47. 47. You can’t solve everything in one minute but you can choose a next step and build confidence in it.
  48. 48. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You will build a new pathway for the electricity in your brain to flow
  49. 49. You will teach your brain to EXPECT to feel safe
  50. 50. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute You’ll be glad you did
  51. 51. Habits of a Happy Brain Retrain your brain to boost your serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin Beyond Cynical
 Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity I, Mammal
 Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness learn more
  52. 52. learn more InnerMammalInstitute.org dopamine serotonin oxytocin endorphin
  53. 53. more…
  54. 54. Accepting stress as a natural learning tool will improve your life significantly
  55. 55. Cortisol gives you the freedom to explore and still be safe
  56. 56. In the hours after a stressful experience, your brain builds new wiring so you can avoid similar threats in the future
  57. 57. Stanford Professor Kelly McGonigal researches the benefits of embracing stress instead of running from it. Here are 3 simple ways to enjoy the benefits of your stress:
  58. 58. 1. View stress as evidence that you have a meaningful life, not as evidence that you have a flawed life.
  59. 59. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute 2. View stress as energy you can use, not as a debilitating affliction.
  60. 60. 3. View stress as a free high-performance training program that strengthens you rather than weakens you.
  61. 61. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute If you believe you need to escape stress, you are more likely to engage in behaviors that increase stress in the long run.
  62. 62. If you believe you can manage stress, you will avoid self- destructive behaviors
  63. 63. Your brain will build a new habit
  64. 64. Stress is as natural as pleasure
  65. 65. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute one more thing
  66. 66. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  67. 67. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  68. 68. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  69. 69. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  70. 70. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  71. 71. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others
  72. 72. Loretta Graziano Breuning PhD, Inner Mammal Institute Don’t compare yourself to others

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