Your Lizard Brain Makes You Dumb
The more emotional you get — the dumber you get.
That’s the brain science talking.
Ever feel like you have trouble thinking when you’re feeling stressed? Well, that’s your Lizard Brain sabotaging you.
Your Lizard Brain — that primal, instinctive part of your brain that’s been around since the dinosaurs — can actually make you dumb.
When your reptilian brain is over-activated — that’s what’s happening when you feel stressed — your ability to think critically and logically decreases. It’s like your Thinking Brain takes a break.
Your IQ and emotional intelligence plummet faster than a clumsy giraffe on an ice rink. Your functional IQ can actually drop 60 or 70 points in that moment!
You’ll be confused about making sense of things that are happening right in front of you.
Your Lizard Brain — the actual brain part is call the Amygdala — is designed to keep you safe from danger — but it can sometimes get carried away.
When you’re stressed, anxious, or in the grips of a strong emotion — your Lizard Brain hijacks your thought process and takes over. It doesn’t care about rational thought or creative problem-solving. It’s wired for survival — it just wants to keep you alive.
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Tame the Lizard
So, how do you keep your Lizard Brain from making you dumb?
First, you need to recognize when it’s happening. You’ll feel it in your body first.
When you feel yourself getting emotional or stressed — like your heart beating faster, your stomach tightening and your body perspiring— take a step back and breathe. Give yourself a chance to calm down and regain control.
Intentional deep “belly” breathing is a powerful tool to help calm your Lizard Brain and bring your body and mind back into balance.
When you’re stressed or anxious, your sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear, triggering your “fight or flight” response.
This survival response is designed to keep you safe in dangerous situations — but it can also cause your body to go into overdrive and increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
Deep breathing — slow steady breathing all the way down to your diaphragm — activates your parasympathetic nervous system — your “rest and digest” response.
Let’s Go To Vagus
When you take deep, intentional breaths, you stimulate your vagus nerve — which sends a signal to your brain to slow down your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, and decrease your breathing rate.
Now you’ll be calmer — reducing your anxiety.
To practice deep breathing, find a quiet place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose, filling your lungs as much as possible.
Hold your breath for a few seconds, then slowly exhale through your mouth, emptying your lungs completely. Repeat this process for several minutes, focusing on your breath and allowing your mind to quiet down.
You can also try different breathing techniques — such as box breathing or the 4–7–8 technique, which involves inhaling for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds.
By practicing deep breathing regularly, you can train your brain to respond more calmly to challenging situations and cultivate a greater sense of inner peace and well-being.
You can take a few deep breaths right now and feel the benefits for yourself!
Make Yourself Smarter
Next, you need to engage your higher brain functions. Some call them “grounding exercises.”
Try problem-solving, reasoning, or creative thinking exercises to activate your prefrontal cortex — the part of your brain responsible for decision-making and self-control. The more you use it, the stronger it gets — and the quicker you’ll calm down.
Grounding exercises are a set of techniques that help you focus your attention on the present moment and create a sense of safety and stability in your body and mind.
These exercises are designed to engage your pre-frontal cortex — the part of your Thinking Brain responsible for executive functions such as decision-making, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.
And that’s the part of your brain that will defy your Lizard Brain.
With grounding exercises you can focus on your senses — such as touch, sight, or smell — and create a connection between your body and the present moment. This, in turn, will help you regulate your emotions and bring your body and mind back into balance.
And make you smarter.
One example of a grounding exercise is the “5–4–3–2–1” technique. To practice this exercise, find a quiet place to sit or stand. Take a few deep breaths and then:
- Look around and name 5 things you can see
- Touch 4 things around you and name their textures
- Listen for 3 sounds around you and name what they are
- Name 2 things you can smell
- Name 1 thing you can taste
By engaging your senses and focusing your attention on the present moment, you activate your pre-frontal cortex and calm your Lizard Brain — helping you feel more calm and centered.
By practicing these exercises regularly, you can train your brain to respond more calmly to challenging situations and cultivate a greater sense of inner peace and well-being.
Your Lizard Brain Isn’t Mindful
Be the “Lizard Whisperer” by practicing mindfulness and self-awareness.
By paying attention to your thoughts and emotions, you can catch yourself before your Lizard Brain takes over.
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help calm your Lizard Brain and reduce your feelings of stress and anxiety.
Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment with an open and non-judgmental attitude. By practicing mindfulness, you can train your brain to focus on the present moment and become less reactive to stressful thoughts and emotions.
One way mindfulness can calm your Lizard Brain is by activating your pre-frontal cortex — the part of your brain responsible for executive functions such as decision-making, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.
When you practice mindfulness, you create a connection between your body and mind, allowing you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them.
Another way mindfulness can calm your Lizard Brain is by helping you cultivate a greater sense of inner peace and well-being. By focusing on the present moment and letting go of worries about the past or future, you create a space for calm and clarity in your mind. This can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety and create a greater sense of balance and harmony in your life.
To practice mindfulness, you can try things like mindful breathing, body scans, or mindful movement.
These practices can help you cultivate a greater sense of awareness and presence in your daily life and reduce the impact of your Lizard Brain on your thoughts and emotions.
By practicing mindfulness regularly, you can train your brain to become more focused, resilient, and at ease — helping you cultivate a greater sense of inner peace and well-being.
Meditation
When you meditate, you create a space for calm and stillness in your mind — allowing you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them.
Meditation is like giving your Thinking Brain a massage. And sending your Lizard Brain out to run some errands.
When you meditate, you create a space for focused attention and concentration, which can help improve your ability to float away and regulate your emotions and reduce stress and anxiety.
You can also meditate your way to greater inner peace. By focusing on the present moment and letting go of worries about the past or future, you create a space for calm and clarity in your mind. This can help create a greater sense of balance and harmony in your life.
To practice meditation, you can try techniques such as mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, or mantra meditation.
These practices can help you cultivate a greater sense of awareness and presence in your daily life, and reduce the impact of your Lizard Brain on your thoughts and emotions.
Defang the Lizard Through Journaling
Process your emotions using journaling.
When you journal, you create a space for self-reflection and introspection — allowing you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them.
When you write down your thoughts and feelings, you can drain your brain of unhealthy — perhaps toxic — emotions.
You’ll gain perspective on your thoughts and emotions. When you write about your experiences and reflect on them, your brain will defang the Lizard.
It will help you gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts and emotions, and help you develop greater insight and clarity about your life and relationships.
Journaling can also help you develop a greater sense of resilience and self-efficacy.
When you reflect on your experiences and emotions in a positive and constructive way, you can develop a greater sense of self-confidence and self-esteem. This can help you cope with stress and adversity more effectively, and help you develop a more positive and optimistic outlook on life.
You can try writing techniques such as free writing, gratitude journaling, or reflective journaling. These can help you cultivate a greater sense of awareness and mindfulness in your daily life — and reduce the impact of your Lizard Brain on your thoughts and emotions.
You Have the Power
Your Lizard Brain can make you dumb — but only if you let it.
Recognize when it’s happening, engage your higher brain functions, and practice mindfulness, self-awareness, meditation and journaling.
Don’t let your inner Lizard control your life.
The next time you feel like your intelligence has checked-out — blame your Lizard Brain.
And then take action to activate your higher brain functions and take back control. Stay smart, my friends!
Don’t let your negative thinking hold you back any longer.
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