May POWerful Words – COMPOSURE – Week 4
When our emotions– like anger, frustration, overwhelm and fear– get intense, we tend to lose our composure. That’s normal. We are human! The key is being able to return to a sense of calm when we lose our composure. We lose our composure when the “Caveman” (amygdala) takes over as boss of the brain. The first piece of information to know is that once you lose your sense of composure, you need time to regain it. Scientists say we need about 20 minutes! What strategy would YOU use to help gain your composure during those 20 minutes? Remember, we can coregulate with someone else– do you remember what that means? When the other person is calm, you “borrow” their sense of calm to help YOU regain your composure. Who might you ask for help and what would you do together (i.e. breathe, sing, read, talk)? Another tip- something that IS NOT helpful when trying to regain composure is replaying the reasons why you are angry/scared in your head! We all lose our composure sometimes- use time & strategies to help regain a sense of calm!
If you have time: What might YOU do to help someone else who is dealing with BIG feelings?