432: Downshifting--Gear up for Success
Time:
Aug 8, 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Location:
Presenter:
Governor's B
Arlene Taylor
Level:
K-12
Specialty:
General
Description:
"The brain" consists of several functional layers that can be
compared to gears in a vehicle. In situations of trauma,
crisis, or any type of fear, the brain downshifts in an
attempt to access functions that promote safety. While this
is a helpful strategy, it can be very deleterious when
activated frequently or when sustained over time.
Strategies to help you identify downshifting in a timely
manner, suggestions for ways to promote upshifting and
for communicating congruently with someone who is in a
downshifted state are presented.
Presents
Downshifting –
a Natural Brain
Phenomenon
Arlene Taylor PhD
www.arlenetaylor.org
References: Selected Brain Facts on web site
URL: http://www.arlenetaylor.org/selected_brain_facts/index.htm
Your Brain is as Unique
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
As your thumbprint!
No two brains are ever identical in
structure, function, or perception!
• The way your brain functions largely determines your quality of life
including level of health, accomplishments, and long-term success –
and creates your world, perceptions, beliefs, reactions, responses,
and behaviors
• Give up any expectation of another brain ever understanding yours
yours precisely—you don’t even understand your brain
completely—it’s impossible!
This presentation is one brain’s perception of the research…
Your Brain is Actually
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
A collection of multiple brains
Functionally these brains can be described as three layers, each
containing distinct functions – although all systems interact
with each other continually
• Thinking-Brain Layer  3rd gear
(neocortex and prefrontal cortex)
• Emotional-Brain Layer  2nd gear
(mammalian brain)
• Action-Brain Layer  1st gear
(reptilian brain)
Action Brain Layer
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Brain Stem and the Cerebellum
• Tends to dominate when threat is perceived
• Houses instinctual survival (stress) responses
• Provides an awareness of the outer sensory world
• Can be compared to the “id”
• Carries the perception that I am here and it’s all about me (egocentric)
• Doesn’t use language but is able to perceive it
• Houses the Reticular Activating Systems that influences one’s E-A-I
• Processes present tense only
• Processes positives easily -1-step process (has difficulty with negatives)
• Is usually the last portion of the brain to die
Emotional Brain Layer
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Limbic System and Structures
• Transfers information from short to long term memory
• Searches brain to collect associations for memory recall (search engine)
• Processes the sense of smell directly
• Can be compared to the “ego” – recognizes I am here but so are you
• Provides the foundation for all relationships with its tools of emotion
(generates emotional impulses)
• 80,000 times faster than the thinking brain layer
• Directs immune system function
• Perceives present and past tenses
• Processes positives easily - 1-step process (has difficulty with negatives –
the reverse of an idea and a 2-step process)
Thinking Brain Layer
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Cerebrum (eight lobes)
• Provides functions related to consciousness
• Can be compared to the “superego” – can think of the good of others
• Able to process positives (more easily) and negatives
• Registers awareness of present, past, and future tenses
• Decodes sensory stimuli (except for smell – emotional layer)
• Pre-frontal cortex contributes executive aspects of thought ( e.g.,
abstract thinking, planning, goals-setting, paying attention, managing
emotions, developing and using conscience, managing willpower)
• Possesses arguably limitless potential for processing concepts from
outside world and thoughts from the inside world
• Uses all forms of language with complex analysis, and can process 125
bits of information and 40 bits of human speech per second
Downshifting – A Metaphoric Term
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
To describe a natural brain phenomenon
Some authors use that actual term (Hart,
Barron, Pearce) while others (Sylwester) prefer
terms such as “reflective” versus “reflexive”
Compare the three functional brain layers to a vehicle with an
automatic transmission
• When the going gets tough the transmission is designed to
shift into a lower gear as needed and then upshift again
• The brain possesses a similar type of functional process
designed for short-term use in specific situations
In Situations of Trauma, Crisis, or Fear
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
The brain downshifts - to access responses perceived
to be safer or that promote safety
• Results in an automatic shift of energy and attention toward lower
brain layers (typically outside conscious awareness)
• A negative signal from any part of the brain creates a negative
response throughout the emotional system, which is then reflected
throughout the entire body and brain.
• The emotional layer can respond to signals of danger from the
action layer (instinct, reflexes) and from the thinking layer
(criticism, anxiety, evaluation)
• When anxious, undecided, insecure, or tense, the brain’s attention
can be divided among the three layers (e.g, think one thing, feel
another, and act from impulses that differ from either)
Studies of Gender Differences
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Boys may be at higher risk for downshifting as have they tend to
have more difficulty coping with some traumas/stressors
Girls
Boys
• Tend to have less difficulty
coping with parental fighting or
divorce, effects less intense
• Tend to find it more difficult
coping with parental fighting
or divorce, the effects are more
intense and last longer
• Brains return more quickly to
stability and learning readiness
post stress
• Attempt suicide more often but
succeed less often
• Brains return more slowly to
stability and learning readiness
post stress
• Are at higher risk for suicide
(rate is 3 times higher than girls
up to age 24)
Triggers for Downshifting
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
• Trauma or Crisis
Examples: Disasters, hospitalization, chronic illness,
abuse, injury, death, war zone experiences, loss
• Self-destructive Behaviors
Examples: Self-destructive behaviors (e.g., non-nutritional eating,
drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, compulsive actions, addictive
behaviors, unbalanced lifestyle) or their negative consequences
• Negative Experiences
Examples: Fired, divorced, shamed in front of others, failed a test,
dysfunctional living / working environments, abuse, loss
Triggers for Downshifting
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
• Thought Patterns
Examples: negative, hopeless, helpless,
disempowered, fanciful, magical, skewed,
abusive, low self-worth, , victim, angry . . .
• Any type of fear
Valid fear alerts you to potentially dangerous situations
- Identify the worst thing that could happen
- Evaluate the possibility versus the probability
- Figure out if you can do anything about the situation
- If yes, take appropriate action related to the actual danger
- If no, be prudent and practice the Serenity Prayer …
Triggers for Downshifting
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Imagined fear usually involves negative thinking
- Negative thinking is unlikely to improve the odds
- Figure out ways to deal effectively with imagined fear
- Change the way you think, obtain professional help, recall a
happy memory, read / recite empowering poems / prose, sing
Deal with imagined fear appropriately to reduce negative consequences (the
pre-frontal lobes appear to be involved with managing fear, learning how not
to be afraid, and inhibiting the amygdalae that remember fear)
It is physiologically impossible to be fearful and appreciative simultaneously
 Identify something to appreciate
Do something to help someone else
 A happy heart is good medicine!
Implications for Christianity
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Craft strategies to deal with fear in order to reduce
undesirable / negative consequences
•
•
•
•
Love casts out fear . . . (I John 4)
Avoid worry, fear, anxiety . . . (Matthew 7, Luke 12)
A cheerful heart is good medicine . . . (Proverbs 17)
The Lord is your helper so avoid fear . . . (Hebrews 13)
• It is physiologically impossible to be fearful
and appreciative at the same time:
 Identify something to appreciate
 Give thanks for something
 Do something to help someone else
Over Time it can be Deleterious
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
To have the brain’s attention and energy focused
frequently or for prolonged periods of time
primarily toward the lower brain layers
• Downshifting is a helpful strategy for specific situations
• Even a helpful function can lose some benefit when
over utilized or misused
There is good news:
• Your brain is so complex and capable that you can still have access to
conscious, third-layer thinking at some level—even when temporarily
downshifted!
• You can develop increased awareness and preplanned strategies to help
you upshift as quickly as possible!
Potential Consequences
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
When downshifted you may:
 Fail to recall what you heard (Studies have shown that people tend to
recall less than 15% of what they heard during a crisis)
 Be prevented from learning
 Experience a reduced ability to take cues (input) into consideration
 Be less able to engage in complex intellectual tasks (  creativity)
 Fail to see interconnectedness / generate solutions for problems
 Develop phobias
 Experience altered immune system function
 Accelerate the aging process
 Reactivate old learned beliefs and patterns of behaviors or relapse into
addictive behaviors regardless of available information
Managing Your Downshifting
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#1 Identify symptoms you exhibit when your
brain is in a downshifted state

This could include a tendency to be defensive, overreactive, or to isolate yourself

Increase your conscious awareness
NOTE: Experiencing feelings of sadness may be an
appropriate response to a situation of loss and may not
necessarily indicate downshifting
 The brain is so amazing that you still can have access to the
conscious thinking brain layer, even when attention and energy
is temporarily focused toward the lower brain layers, through
a set of preplanned strategies
Managing Your Downshifting, Cont’d
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#2 Define what you need in order to perceive a sense
of safety. Include all six boundary areas in your evaluation.
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Spiritual
Social
Sexual
Perception of “safety” can differ for different brains
although there are some common threads
People typically tend to feel safe when they believe
themselves competent to handle basic developmental tasks in
each area of life—commensurate with their age, education,
experience, and maturity levels
Managing Your Downshifting, Cont’d
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#3 Develop and use pre-planned strategies
to access higher brain functions
•
•
•
•
Do some brain-breathing
Think of something humorous and laugh
Engage in positive self-talk
Sing, meditate, pray, exercise
•
•
•
•
•
Ask for help from your support person(s)
Visualize (mentally picture) yourself in a safe place
Contract with yourself to “deal with it later in the day”
Do a task over which you have some control
Activate the Quieting Reflex (Charles Stroebel)
Managing Your Downshifting, Cont’d
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#4 Increase your awareness of your patterns
of behavior related to downshifting
• Identify when, where, common triggers,
length of time, environments, etc.
• Purpose to avoid inappropriate, unnecessary,
frequent, or prolonged downshifting
• Implement preventive strategies that work for you
and your brain
• Refer to ten preventive strategies that follow to give you
ideas and get you started
Handling Downshifting in Others
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Bottom line: do something to help the
other person realize a sense of safety
Don’t touch the
stove!
#1 Use short, simple, positive statements
• The subconscious readily understands positives
(a one-step process) but has difficulty with
negatives, the reverse of an idea, which is a
two-step process)
• The conscious mind is capable of changing the initial
picture to its opposite, but it is a difficult process
• The use of negatives may increase one’s problems
as the brain visualizes negative outcomes and may
fail to create reverse pictures successfully
Keep your
hands away
from the stove!
Handling Downshifting in Others
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#2 Use present-tense words
•
Present tense is perceived by all three functional
brain layers - Action, Emotional, Thinking
#3 Use congruent communication
• Message content in a 2-party communication: 7%-10% is transmitted
through actual words, 15% through voice tonals (sound, pitch,
inflection, rate), and 75% through nonverbals
• All portions of the transmission must be in harmony and coinciding
with each other to avoid sending mixed messages
• Be aware of socialized gender differences related to congruence (e.g.,
Mona Lisa grin even when unhappy, being nice, direct versus indirect
speech styles, crying, stoicism, females and anger, males and fear
or sadness) and make the most effective choice
Handling Downshifting in Others
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#4 Avoid use of the word “why”
• In the English language, why is often
perceived as stressful or threatening and can
trigger downshifting
• To elicit information or stimulate discussion try instead:
What did you want to have happen in this situation?
When you made this choice what did you think might happen?
What could you do differently in the future?
#5 Communicate at eye level whenever possible
• Both individuals either stand or sit
• Studies of the impact on perception of length of hospital visits
indicated patients thought more time had passed (than actually
had) if the physician sat down through at least part of the visit
Handling Downshifting in Others
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
#6 Mirror language style (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)
•
To promote a sense of comfort
#7 Solicit input
•
To promote a sense of being heard and
understood
#8 Encourage participation in making decisions
#9 Allow choice between two options whenever possible
#10 Provide opportunities to exercise some control
•
Over a portion of an activity (if not over the entire activity)
Implications for Christianity
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
Apostle Paul - what I want to do I don’t do, and what I
don’t want to do I do! Go figure . . . (Romans 7)
• Parenting / grand parenting / role modeling
• Counseling / teaching / pastoring / mentoring
• Temptations (cellular memory)
• Use of will power and conscience (e.g., executive functions)
• Health – physical, emotional , mental, spiritual, social, sexual
• Anxiety of “being good enough” to be saved
• Fear of last-days tribulation
Preventive Strategies #1
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
1. Live a high-level-wellness lifestyle in balance
Evaluate your typical habits and behaviors in relation to
amount of water you drink, type of food ingested, frequency
of eating, amount of exercise, amount of sleep, periods of
play and recreation, hours spent working, and so on.
Take steps to avoid becoming exhausted. For every period of
exhaustion the brain tends to experience a corresponding
period of depression. While depression in and of itself may
not be a trigger for downshifting, it can drain your energy
and increase your risk of being challenged in areas that are
difficult or energy intensive.
Preventive Strategies #2
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
2. Create a personal loss history and write it out
The starting date may be prior to your birth in some
cases (e.g., you were not a wanted pregnancy).
Evaluate your loss history carefully. Go through the
process of grief recovery as needed to deal with unresolved
loss. Finish up unfinished business.
Refer to Taylor’s web site for information about the Grief
Recovery Pyramid for survivors of loss (as opposed to the
Kubler-Ross model for individuals who are personally
facing death).
Preventive Strategies #3
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
3. Give up blame related to downshifting
Recognize that the phenomenon of downshifting is
a natural and desirable short-term response in
specific situations. Avoid beating up on yourself
when it occurs inappropriately.
Give up blame related to downshifting, period. Most people
(including you) did the best they could at the time with their
level of understanding and the tools that were available to
them. Blame tends to function as a red herring that never
solves anything. You can learn a new way!
Preventive Strategies #4
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
4. Increase your conscious awareness
Estimates are that as much as 95% of what goes on
in the brain occurs at a subconscious level. Become
More observant and strive to bring more information
to conscious thought. You can manage only what you
become aware of, identify, and label.
It’s often what you don’t know you don’t know that can cause
the most trouble. Overreactions tend to involve the past.
Something about a present situation reminded your brain of
a past situation (e.g., shameful or hurtful), and it brought the
unresolved emotional weight to bear on the present, usually
inappropriately. Identify and resolve the past insofar as it is
possible to do so.
Preventive Strategies #5
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
5. Develop an appropriate response to conflict
situations
Identify any tendency you may have to run away
from, avoid, or distance yourself from conflict.
Take careful and deliberate steps to resolve conflict rather
than creating a metaphorical enemy outpost of unresolved
conflict in your head. This may involve reframing, forgiving,
setting and implementing bona fide boundaries, practicing
new behaviors, or changing your thought patterns, to name
just a few.
Preventive Strategies #6
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
6. Take responsibility for managing your own
upshifting
Understand that upshifting occurs through a conscious
process. Take responsibility for implementing preplanned
strategies to access conscious cognitive functions in your own
brain. It’ s your brain! Avoid expecting others to try to do
this for you (they probably couldn’t anyway).
Be aware of behaviors in other persons that indicate the brain
may be in a downshifted state. Develop and consistently
implement behaviors that promote congruent communication.
Preventive Strategies #7
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
7. Develop an affirming communication style
Negativity, impatience, worry, anxiety, or fear can
trigger downshifting, and can actually delay personal growth
and needed recovery processes if not addressed and resolved.
This is especially true when new more functional patterns of
behavior are in the process of being developed and are not yet
strong enough to over-ride the older, less desirable patterns.
Speak, think, and act in an affirming manner toward
yourself and with others. This is a simple concept but usually
takes time, effort, and consistent commitment to develop.
Preventive Strategies #8
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
8. Avoid unnecessary downshifting
Downshifting can become a habit. Although you can
implement strategies to upshift, it is usually easier to
avoid unnecessary downshifting in the first place.
Become savvy! Identify triggers in your own life and learn to
avoid them whenever possible. Increase your sensitivity to
what triggers downshifting in others and develop strategies
for communicating more effectively. Access your support
system / Higher Power as indicated.
Preventive Strategies #9
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
9. Learn to recognize tension quickly and take
steps to resolve it
Tension involves energy that is trapped in muscle tissue and unable to flow.
When life isn’t working well and a person experiences anxiety, worry,
trauma, crisis, fear, etc., the discomfort tends to be stored in muscle tissue.
It requires a great deal of energy to maintain muscular tension, which can
alter muscle function. In extreme cases, the muscles may cease to function
properly, if at all.
Remember that when the brain is in a downshifted state, the
tendency is to go for the longest-held or least-painful pattern. Since
the action and emotional brain layers involve the subconscious, a
person can slip into old patterns very quickly or relapse into
addictive behaviors regardless of available information and in spite
of the best of intentions.
Preventive Strategies #10
Arlene Taylor PhD
Realizations Inc
10.Release discomfort and tension from the muscles
and exhibit more desirable muscular patterns
Increase your conscious awareness, realizing that your body
is part of your subconscious mind. Exercise regularly and
alter repetitive behaviors as needed. Engage in muscular
reprogramming, if necessary.
When it is a question of needing to heal nerves and muscles or to
reprogram the way in which they are functioning, the thinking brain
layer must help the body. The rationale for understanding what has
happened, is happening, and what needs to happen is a cognitive process.
Consciously working through new exercises or techniques is a necessary
step. Gradually the information will filter down to the emotional brain
layer and the action brain layer (where the software is loaded, if you will),
to implement the desired changes.
Speaker Information
If you ask Arlene Taylor what she does in life that absolutely
energizes her, she will likely reply, “I’m a brain-function
specialist and I help people thrive!” She incorporates cuttingedge brain-function research into her empowering seminars,
highlighting strategies that, when practically applied, can help
people be more successfulby design.
A recipient of the American Medal of Honor for Brain-Function Education
(American Biographical Institute Inc, 2002), Taylor holds earned doctorates in
Health and Human Services and in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. In 1989 the
Loma Linda University Nursing Alumni Association selected Taylor as
Alumna of the year. She has life membership in the National Registry of Who’s
Who, 2000 edition. A member of the National Speakers Association, Taylor is
listed with the Professional Speakers Bureau International.
Access her web site (www.arlenetaylor.org) for descriptions of seminars,
Taylor-on-the-Brain Bulletins, SynapSez newsletter, Selected Brain Facts,
Frequently Asked Questions, lecture schedules, and more.
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