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WhaL kepL Penry allve LhaL nlghL was near perfecL synchronlclLy beLween hls mlnd and body
under condlLlons of exLreme sLress. 1he good news ls Lhe same skllls, noL even nearly as
perfecLly applled, can help you access Lhe mlndfulness alLernaLlve Lo belng overworked and
overwhelmed. Llke Penry, Lhey'll probably even help you Lo llve a longer, healLhler and happler
llfe.

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1AkL A SLCCnu LCCk A1 1PlS SLC1lCn - 8LW8l1L Anu 1lCP1Ln u 8ASLu Cn MA8 2011
PA8vA8u MLn1AL PLAL1P LL11L8 A81lCLL. - llLL ln CPA1L8 nC1L lCLuL8
hLLp://www.healLh.harvard.edu/newsleLLers/Parvard_MenLal_PealLh_LeLLer/2011/March/unde
rsLandlng-Lhe-sLress-response


Cur bodles are capable of some preLLy amazlng Lhlngs. Many of Lhose Lhlngs don'L even requlre
acLlve lnLervenLlon on our parL. AcLually, lL's a good Lhlng LhaL Lhey don'L. Can you lmaglne Lhe
ouLcome lf you had Lo acLlvely dlrecL your hearL Lo beaL or your lungs Lo resplraLe? lL wouldn'L
be preLLy LhaL's for sure.

1here are some sysLems ln our body, however, where lL pays for us Lo mlndfully lnLervene. Cne
of Lhose ls Lhe auLonomlc nervous sysLem (AnS). WhaL Penry dld LhaL nlghL ln MassachuseLLs
was experLly manage hls lnLernal response Lo a hlghly LhreaLenlng exLernal sLlmulus. WhaL
enabled hlm Lo do LhaL was hls auLonomlc nervous sysLem. 1he auLonomlc nervous sysLem
along wlLh Lhe cenLral and perlpheral nervous sysLems enable us Lo do everyLhlng we do as
human belngs. 1he AnS ls subdlvlded lnLo Lhree complemenLary sysLems - Lhe sympaLheLlc
nervous sysLem (SnS), Lhe parasympaLheLlc nervous sysLem (nS) and Lhe enLerlc nervous
sysLem. When you [usL have a feellng ln your guL," you know Lhe enLerlc nervous sysLem ls aL
play because lL's Lhe dlvlslon of Lhe AnS LhaL conLrols your gasLrolnLesLlnal funcLlon and, whlle lL
communlcaLes wlLh Lhe sympaLheLlc and parasympaLheLlc sysLems, can operaLe lndependenLly
of elLher of Lhem.

ln Lhe conLexL of Lhls book, we're mosL concerned wlLh Lhe SnS and Lhe nS. LeL's Lake a look aL
each of Lhem ln Lerms of how Lhey worked LogeLher and separaLely ln relaLlon Lo how Penry
responded when Lhe drug dealer LhreaLened Lo go afLer hlm and hls famlly. Whlle you
hopefully won'L ever face Lhe exLreme naLure of Lhe LhreaL LhaL Penry faced LhaL nlghL, you deal
wlLh hundreds of low grade, someLlmes sllenL, LhreaLs every day LhaL can leave you feellng
overworked and overwhelmed. We can learn a loL abouL how Lo deal wlLh Lhose LhreaLs by
Laklng a deeper look aL Penry's sLory.

4)+"$ (0 45)+"$

1he sympaLheLlc nervous sysLem ls where Lhe flghL or fllghL" response resldes. When Lhe drug
dealer LhreaLened Penry hls flghL or fllghL response was acLlvaLed. When Penry saw and heard
Lhe LhreaL, a parL of hls braln called Lhe Lhalamus sorLed ouL Lhe deLalls and acLlvaLed Lwo oLher
parLs of hls braln. Cne was a relaLlvely small parL very close Lo Lhe bralnsLem called Lhe
amygdala. 1he amygdala acLlvaLes oLher parLs of Lhe braln LhaL conLrol funcLlons llke Lhe
release of sLress reacLlng hormones such as corLlsol, adrenallne and dopamlne. lL also puLs Lhe
SnS on alerL whlch prepares Lhe body for emergency acLlon by ralslng Lhe hearL raLe, blood
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pressure and Lhe pace of breaLhlng. 1he oLher parL of Lhe braln LhaL Lhe Lhalamus connecLed
wlLh when Penry was LhreaLened was Lhe upper reglon of Lhe braln called Lhe corLex. 1he
corLex, especlally Lhe area called Lhe prefronLal corLex (lL's rlghL behlnd your forehead), ls where
crlLlcal and more sophlsLlcaLed Lhlnklng happens. 1hls ls where slLuaLlons are sorLed ouL and
opLlons are developed.

6.&$ #*- 7)+.&$

As Penry quleLly Look LhaL deep breaLh when Lhe dealer asked hlm hls name, he began Lo
acLlvaLe hls parasympaLheLlc nervous sysLem. 1he nS ls ofLen called Lhe resL and dlgesL"
funcLlon and, whlle Penry wasn'L dolng any resLlng or dlgesLlng aL LhaL parLlcular momenL,
acLlvaLlng hls nS counLerbalanced Lhe flghL or fllghL response of hls SnS and gave hlm Lhe
space Lo Lhlnk Lhrough how he wanLed Lo handle Lhls very sLressful and dangerous slLuaLlon. lL
also helped mlLlgaLe Lhe naLural SnS responses of sweaLy palms, LlghL vocal cords or even
crapplng ln hls panLs from hls dlgesLlve sysLem suddenly shuLLlng down.

under your own less dramaLlc buL sLlll sLressful clrcumsLances, you wanL Lo have Lhe same klnd
of synchronlclLy beLween your SnS and nS LhaL Penry had ln Lhe park LhaL nlghL. lL's whaL
sclenLlsLs and docLors call managlng your allosLaLlc load. 1he goal ls Lo keep your SnS and nS
ln a sLaLe of balance or homeosLasls. 8esearcher and auLhor 8lck Panson offers a really useful
meLaphor when he descrlbes Lhe flghL or fllghL (SnS) response as Lhe acceleraLor" and Lhe resL
and dlgesL (nS) response as Lhe brakes". 1hey need Lo work ln concerL wlLh each oLher for
you Lo effecLlvely manage your allosLaLlc load.

8$39: )* ;"0(*)9 4)+"$ (0 45)+"$

1he challenge for many leaders and hlgh capaclLy professlonals ls LhaL Lhe klnds of sLress
lnduclng facLors ouLllned ln ChapLer Cne can leave Lhem ln a low Lo hlgh grade sLaLe of chronlc
flghL or fllghL mode. ln hls LhlrLy year law enforcemenL career, Penry faced hls share of llfe
LhreaLenlng slLuaLlons LhaL could Lrlgger an acuLe flghL or fllghL response. 1he lrony for hlm, as
he Lold me ln our lnLervlew, ls LhaL hls offlce hours were ofLen more sLressful Lhan hls Llme ln
Lhe fleld. 1he Lhlng abouL Lhe offlce sLress, he sald, ls LhaL lL klnd of [usL eaLs away aL you day
afLer day. lL's [usL klnd of chlnklng away aL Lhe armor Lo Lhe polnL where lL wlll crack." WhaL
Penry ls descrlblng ls Lhe sLress LhaL resulLs from a chronlc, lf low grade, sLaLe of flghL or fllghL.

lf you've ever pald aLLenLlon Lo whaL you feel llke afLer a LhlrLeen or fourLeen hour day of back
Lo back meeLlngs, a hundred or so emalls, an lnLermlnable conference call, dozens of declslons,
a conLenLlous conversaLlon or Lwo and a Lough commuLe, you know whaL Penry ls Lalklng abouL.
now, add ln facLors LhaL may or may noL be aL play ln your llfe llke buslness Lravel, keeplng up
wlLh Lhe school and sporLs commlLmenLs of your klds, Lhe challenges LhaL come wlLh aglng
parenLs or slck loved ones and flnanclal pressures or worrles. 1hen conslder LhaL, lf you're a
smarLphone enabled execuLlve, manager or professlonal, Lhe llkellhood ls you never geL a Lrue
break from any of Lhls on any day of Lhe week. ln a sLudy of 1,600 managers and professlonals
Parvard 8uslness School professor Leslle erlow found LhaL:

70 check Lhelr smarLphone wlLhln an hour of geLLlng up.
36 check Lhelr phone wlLhln an hour of golng Lo sleep.
CopyrlghL 2014. All rlghLs reserved.
48 check over Lhe weekend, lncludlng lrlday and SaLurday nlghLs.
31 check Lhelr phone consLanLly durlng vacaLlons. (Web Mu leaLure - AddlcLed Lo
?our SmarLphone?)

lL's easy Lo see how all of LhaL sLlmull and lnpuL can leave you wlLh a flghL or fllghL response LhaL
ls chronlcally sLuck ln Lhe on poslLlon.

1he lmpacL of LhaL on your braln and your body are clear.
!"#$ ;"0(*)9 4)+"$ (0 45)+"$ 7(.& $( 2(30 <0#)* #*- <(-1
LeL's Lake Lhe braln flrsL. erhaps you've noLlced LhaL your declslon maklng capaclLy lsn'L aL lLs
besL when you're feellng chronlcally sLressed. 8esearchers have demonsLraLed Lhls ln sLudles.
ln one sLudy, parLlclpanLs who were placed ln condlLlons LhaL lnduced chronlc sLress fell back on
hablLual sLraLegles (relaLlvely more mlndless) even when comlng up wlLh new sLraLegles
(relaLlvely more mlndful) LhaL were dlrecLed Loward Lhelr goals would have been a beLLer way Lo
go. luncLlonal M8l resulLs from Lhe same sLudy showed LhaL chronlc sLress leads Lo aLrophy of
Lhe prefronLal corLex (Lhe parL of Lhe braln where hlgher order Lhlnklng and declslon maklng
resldes) and ln Lhe braln clrculLry LhaL conLrols goal-dlrecLed declslon maklng. (5ttess-loJoceJ
cbooqes lo bomoo Jeclsloo-mokloq ote tevetslble - 1tooslotloool lsycblotty - Ioly J, 2012
bttp.//www.ootote.com/tp/jootool/v2/o7/foll/tp201259o.btml )
So, LhaL's whaL a chronlc sLaLe of flghL or fllghL does Lo your braln. WhaL does lL do Lo your
body? 8emember LhaL from an evoluLlonary sLandpolnL, Lhe flghL or fllghL response was whaL
proLecLed our pre-hlsLorlc ancesLors from saber LooLh Llgers and oLher wlld beasLs LhaL would
have been happy Lo have Lhem for lunch. 1he LhreaLs Loday - packed calendars, Lough
declslons, [ammed lnboxes, famlly pressures - are subLler buL more perslsLenL. lf you end up ln
a chronlc sLaLe of flghL or fllghL because of Lhem, Lhe Loll on your body can be severe. 8ecause lL
was deslgned Lo address Lhe sabre LooLh Llger klnd of LhreaL, Lhe flghL or fllghL response amps
up sysLems ln your body LhaL you need Lo respond Lo danger and amps down bodlly sysLems
LhaL aren'L requlred Lo elLher flghL or flee from Lhe Llger. When Lhose sysLems geL sLuck ln
elLher dlrecLlon because of chronlc flghL or fllghL,
Lhe effecLs can be severe.
Pere's a qulck summary from 1he Chopra CenLer's
ur. 8oberL Conzalez of whaL ma[or sysLems do ln
Lhe flghL or fllghL response and Lhe lmpacL lL has
on your body when Lhey sLay Lhere: