Post on 18-Nov-2014
description
THE COPING BRAIN
By: TeAnne White
WHAT IS THE COPING BRAIN?
The coping brain is when we’re faced with a
new or upsetting challenge, our brains
come up with ways to deal with our worry
or stress. When we train our brains to use
coping methods, we can repair our own
emotional scars and have more confidence.
WHAT’S IT MADE OF?
There coping brain is made of three parts:
THINKING- learning and strong memories.
FEELING- telling parts of our body what to do.
SELF-PROTECTION- figuring out how to come
up with safe ways to keep us alive and out of
danger.
CHALLENGES WE FACE
FAMILY; families have conflicts all the time, whether it’s physically
fighting or just an argument, no family is perfect. You just have to
accept each others faults and move forward together as one.
RELATIONSHIPS; every relationship has at least on problem. It
can be communication, trust, loyalty or friendship. You should talk
with each other, work things out and work together to become
stronger.
BULLIES; bullying is one of the most common challenges we face
as kids. There are many coping choices your brain can make, it can
be to fight back, to tell an adult or to have a talk with the bully
yourself.
SKILLS THAT YOU CAN USE
There are many skills that you can use. You can use
friends, parents, siblings, etc.
FAMILY
PEERS
TEACHERS/STAFF
ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA
SKILLS THAT YOU CAN USE: FAMILY
FAMILY; Parents are the most important people to help us
cope with our fears. If a baby’s parents are good parents they
let them know they are safe, loved and protected by comforting
them when they’re hurt emotionally or physically. If a baby’s
parents are often upset, fearful, angry or sad it is hard for baby
to be cheerful and happy. There won’t be many good coping
examples set for that baby. Any of our close family members
can become our coping models until we become old enough to
play with other children.
SKILLS THAT YOU CAN USE: PEERS
PEERS; Children begin to see new models for coping once they
start nursery or pre-school. They are exposed to other children
who exhibit their own coping styles or habits. Young children
quickly learn new coping patterns from being around others and
observing the way their friends and classmates deal with
difficult situations. During their pre-teen, adolescent years we
are old enough to choose from different types of coping
patterns. We also begin to pay more attention to the coping
habits of our peers.
SKILLS THAT YOU CAN USE: TEACHERS/STAFF
TEACHERS/STAFF; teachers and school staff, like
our parents, can also become important coping
models for students from kindergarten and
throughout elementary school. As we near the
teenage years, students have usually begun to
pattern the coping styles of both parents and
teachers, since our neocortex is able to form our own
unique coping habits.
*“neocortex” is responsible for the evolution of
intelligence.
SKILLS THAT YOU CAN USE: ENTERTAINMENT
MEDIA
Many students are used to playing video games and
watching TV and movies with lots of action and violent
behavior. There are many studies trying to understand if
violent entertainment actual shapes a child’s way of coping
with stress, frustration and emotional upsets. There is
some evidence that students who have coping problems
and can’t get over their upsets easily become addicted to
violence in media and video games.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COPING
There are many myths or misconceptions about coping.
The "I don’t care" coping solution.
Not realizing reptilian brain automatically
taking over when we’re stressed and hurting
Instinctive brain coping can become an easy
habit.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COPING
THE “I DON’T CARE” METHOD- Many adolescents make the
mistake of trying to cope with stress and emotional pain by
saying/thinking “I don’t care”. One of the most common mistakes
we make when stressed by upsetting experiences is to try to shut
off our awareness of emotional brain’s ability to sense what we
are feeling, including emotional pain.. Many adolescents (as well
as adults) make the mistake of trying to cope with stress and
emotional pain by adopting the “I don’t care” approach. One of
the most common mistakes we make when stressed by upsetting
experiences is to try to shut off our awareness of emotional
brain’s ability to sense what we are feeling, including emotional
pain. The problem with this is we may lose our "ability to care"
which leads to many more problems throughout our life.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COPING
Not realizing reptilian brain automatically taking over
when we’re stressed and hurting- the reptilian brain has a
limited survival response; to attack or hide when threatened. So
when we can’t deal with stress or upsets using our thinking brain,
we may be ruled by anger and controlled by reptilian impulses.
Because our brain tends to take the easiest path for dealing with
problems, reptilian brain often takes control over how we act
when our feelings get hurt. D-ANGER is a sign of reptilian
survival brain response.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COPING
Instinctive brain coping can become an easy habit- we
may get mad or sad out of habit. This means we automatically
react the same way even though an "emotional wound" or upset
requires a different kind of coping skill than avoiding "physical
injury." We need our neocortex to figure out the best way of
coping with each type of fear or upset. Habits can be changed by
making thoughtful choices. Be aware of developing “automatic”
coping habits that let instincts take control away from your
thinking brain’s “figuring out,” problem-solving ability.
MANAGING ANGER WITH COPING SKILLS
We know that when we can’t control anger we’re
also more likely to harm ourselves as well as others.
Those unable to control their sadness may suffer
from long periods of distress called depression.
Since we know that our thinking brain plays a big
role in helping us manage responses to stress, we
need to use the learning power of our human
neocortex to develop healthy and effective coping
skills.
SOURCE(S):
Wikipedia
Copingskills4kids.net
JMS Health textbook.