Reframing aka Reappraisal and Emotion
The Practice of Changing Our Minds
Gratitude is a powerful tool for reframing or reappraisal which is simply intentionally seeing something from a different perspective. The benefits of reappraisal can not be understated. It helps us to:
- have empathy
- communicate more effectively with people who are different than us
- open up possibilities and solutions
- get unstuck when we are stressed so we can effectively solve problems
David Rock is a neuroscientist who studies how the brain responds to strong emotions, stress and threats. His research has found that the limbic system can get triggered relatively easily by intense stress or even simple threats like social rejection. When the limbic system kicks in it shuts down the prefrontal cortex which is the advanced thinking center of the brain that allows us to problem-solve, make decisions, think creatively, etc.
In a long but very informative video David Rock gives two solutions to keep us in our thinking brain. First of all he says that what we tend to do is suppress our emotions (even if only briefly) because they are not perceived as appropriate or convenient at that time. But suppressing our emotions actually leads to the shutting down of our thinking brain. Instead what we should be doing is labeling our emotions and reappraisal. Either one of these has to happen immediately to stop the limbic system in its tracks.
He talks about reappraisal as an advanced skill more associated with successful leaders but this is a skill we practice all the time. Finding gratitude for something that we didn’t feel gratitude for at first is a form of reappraisal. So anytime you are choosing to find gratitude for something that is challenging or stressful you are practicing reappraisal. And if you can do it quickly you are keeping your thinking brain in charge instead of sinking into the limbic system’s fight, flight or freeze.
Those intense emotions are real. We can become aware of them, accept them, feel them and then release them through reappraisal. While we are already practicing this skill through our gratitude practice, we can increase our effectiveness of using this skill by practicing it in the moment when intense emotions hit.
Reframing is your mind gym, and if you do it regularly, your mind—and emotions—get more fit.
~LeAura Alderson
What are you grateful for now that you see things differently?
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[su_note note_color=”#e7e7e7″ text_color=”#686767″ radius=”0″] My gratitude journey started in May 2011 and continues to this day. Thank you for being a part of it! A daily gratitude practice is simple. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. Download your free GratitudeGuide. My clients focus on gratitude and learn from their successes to make the positive changes they want in their lives. You can too. Call me to set up our first meeting 505.333.9336. [/su_note]