Tame your Reptile Brain (Fight/Flight/Freeze) for Mental Wellness

20 Signs That Your Reptile Brain (AKA limbic system) Is in Overdrive:

1. Focusing on pain or body checking:

Do you find yourself obsessively talking or thinking about symptoms of illness?

2. Scanning your environment:

Do you find yourself scanning your surroundings for potential threats? 

3. Reading the future:
Do you find yourself predicting how you will react if you engage in certain activities or go specific places? Or do you often predict how others will react? Do you avoid situations, or alter the way that you live in a self-protective manner?

4. Obsessing about fear: (of chemicals, fatigue, pain or anxiety):
Do you find yourself constantly worrying about the future or your state of health? I

5. Mood changes:
Do you often find yourself feeling helpless, sad, resentful, angry, depressed or anxious? Do you feel like you are on an emotional rollercoaster? Do you have thoughts of suicide?

6. Negative thinking patterns:
Do you find yourself in persistent negative thinking patterns about yourself, others or the world? Do you feel victimized by other people or circumstances? When things are going well, do you find yourself thinking it won't last?

7. Negative Self-Dialogue:
Do you find that you are impatient with yourself or others? Do you notice that your inner dialogue or conversations are largely based on judgement of self or others? Do you take things personally?

8. Believing that you cannot change or succeed because your illness is worse, not as bad or different:
Do you find that you often feel different and separate from others?

9. Lack of self-love:
Do you find that you don’t take time during the day to take care of yourself in a loving and nurturing way?

10. Living by your feelings:
Do you often find yourself planning your day in accordance with how your body feels or your energy levels?

11. Addictive behaviors:
Do you find yourself engaging in behaviors that you know are unhealthy but cannot stop them?

12. Being the expert or comparing this program with other information:
Do you find yourself saying “I already know that” when you are going through this program?

13. Blaming:
Do you often find that you are stuck in a pattern of blaming other people for the circumstances of your life?

14. Justifying:
Do you find yourself justifying your reactions based on past experiences, outdated beliefs, or your personality characteristics?

15. Complaining:
Do you find yourself complaining about how you feel, complaining about other people, or expressing dissatisfaction regarding the state of the world?

16. Over analyzing – spending too much time asking “why?"
Do you find yourself over analyzing situations or trying to find the root cause of your reactions? Do you over-process or excessively analyze your emotions or experiences?

18. Comparing your results to others:
Do you find yourself comparing your results to other people? Do you find that you are impatient with your recovery process?

19. Defining yourself through the perspective of illness and/or symptoms:
Do you find yourself talking about symptoms of illness when someone asks how you are?

20. Procrastination:

Do you put things off until the last minute or justify not taking action?

In this episode we will go through 6 simple steps to get your overactive limbic system out of overdrive and you back into the driver's seat of your life. You are worth it!