Thoughtober - Day twelve

Embrace the right kind of drama

Welcome to today.

Drama has the power to reach and engage the brain in a way that many learning experiences struggle to do. It can be called ‘affective learning’ in that the emotions and the imagination can be stirred in memorable ways.

Drama in the brain uses the same mechanisms as opiate receptors - When we do not get as much attention, validation or value as we desire, we look to ease the anxiety that arises from this.

To do this, we instinctively seek more drama. This is because the pituitary gland and hypothalamus secrete endorphins – also known as the pain-suppressing and pleasure-inducing compounds mimicked by opioids and heroin.

So what I am encouraging today is for you to control the drama.

One of the best ways for our prefrontal cortex to strengthen is through the power of story telling.

So what kind of stories do you need to hear?

Everything that comes into our brain is treated as story, as narrative, as discourse to learn from.

So what would be better for your brain to have as your dramatic learning?

What kind of imagery would inspire you?

What kind of noises would soothe your soul?

When we are passive in the information taken into our brain this then lends itself to us being influenced in ways that are good for executive function and instead let our limbic system react, react, react.

We want good old response after careful planning and a touch of insight, so take care of the drama around you.

This is a game changer for emotional regulation. I cannot stress that enough.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.