Anxious about your personal branding or portrait shoot? That’s just your lizard brain!
Why is it we that we get excited about something and then when we're there, doing the thing, we get really nervous and we can't think straight? As someone who’s been on their own journey with mental health I really get this. One of the reasons I ended up training as a counsellor and meditation teacher on the side, was the huge benefits I have found in tools that help me to regulate my nervous system. I really want to pass these tools on, so that when your nervous system kicks in you can get back to a place where you can think straight.
Remembering how to breathe when your lizard brain kicks in
If this is something you experience, it's definitely not just you. In fact, there's science behind it. Parts of our brains haven't evolved all that much since the days where we were trying to keep ourselves safe from sabre tooth tigers. The primitive, 'lizard' part of our brain is there to keep us safe from danger but it can't tell the difference between a real threat, like that tiger, or perceived threat like feeling anxiety about your shoot.
When the lizard brain kicks in it takes over the whole show, which is great if you need to focus on running away from prehistoric predators but not so great if you need to soothe yourself while you have your photo taken. In short, the lizard can't remember how to breathe so you might need to give it a little help!
Get out of your lizard brain and regulate your nervous system
Here are 3 tips to get out of your lizard brain and regulate your nervous system:
1: Be more zebra and shake it off - when animals in the wild escape a predator, you'll often see them shaking their whole body afterwards. Shaking it out resets your nervous system and shaking it out to your favourite song means you can have fun in the process.
2: Take it low and slow - try taking low slow deep breathes to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Breathe in for 4, hold it for 5 and breathe out for 6. Repeat this for at least five minutes.
3: Get patting - patting your body can ground you back into the space. Starting at the top of your head, notice the sensation in your body as you tap lightly all over.
P.S. Don't worry if you do feel nervous at your shoot, I can help with tools to regulate yourself
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