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How The Brain Interprets Stress and Its Importance - The Threat Bucket
How many times have you told a client or been told; “You need to decrease your stress.”
Of course, we do. We all do. It’s no secret we all could use a little more of that, but HOW. More sleep? But I don’t sleep well. Less Pain? My knee has been hurting for years.
Life stress? How do I change my life when that happens?
These are just the tip of the iceberg, but what Applied Neurology does and what we teach is that stress is stress, threat is threat, and pain is pain in the brain, no matter physical or emotional.
Let’s explain what happens in the brain with threat (stress) so you can understand why we do not function as well under stress.
In today's post COVID world, stress is a common experience, influencing both our physical and mental well-being. Understanding how our brain interprets and responds to stress can provide valuable insights into managing it more effectively. One crucial concept that we teach in Next Level Neuro is this understanding of the "threat bucket." This analogy helps explain how the brain processes various external and internal inputs to determine our stress levels and initiate protective mechanisms.
The Threat Bucket Analogy
The "threat bucket" is a useful analogy to illustrate how our brain manages stress (threat).
Imagine that your brain has a bucket that collects all the potential threats you encounter—both big and small. These threats can come from various inputs, such as physical pain, emotional stress, or environmental factors. The bucket represents your capacity to handle stress.
When the bucket is only partially full, you can manage the stress effectively. However, when the bucket overflows, it can lead to overwhelming stress responses, such as chronic pain or anxiety.
How the Brain Initiates Outputs to Prevent Threat Overload
The brain's protective mechanisms are designed to prevent the threat bucket from overflowing. When the brain senses that the bucket is getting too full, it initiates outputs to reduce the load. These outputs are what coaches across the world are tasked with helping.
**This is the spout on the threat bucket image. The brain sends out P.A.I.N.
These responses are the brain's way of managing and mitigating threats before they become unmanageable.
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