With temperatures hitting the 90’s lately, the unusual high heat causes an uncomfortable state for most. Keeping hydrated, wearing comfortable clothes, and staying indoors with air conditioning, usually can help a person beat the unpleasant conditions.
However, when we are not being mindful of what the heat can do to us, our body can overheat causing dizziness, confusion, fatigue, and flushed skin.
But the sun isn’t the only object that can cause our body to go into this altered state. Have you ever had a moment when you didn’t expect something to occur?
• A customer calls complaining about your service…
• A boss is less than pleased with the quality of your work…
• A conversation with a family member takes an ugly turn…
In most cases, our Reactive Self-Referencing Center is activated in our brain. It is involved with aspects of your personality and identity, especially in the way you perceive yourself and relate to others. This is the inner voice which is concerned with your self and the interpretation of the experience.
When we are not mentally prepared to address the situation, our body naturally produces a response to protect ourselves. We could become confused, red in the face, get flustered, and exhausted. Much like the symptoms we experience when overexposed to the sun.
So how can you stop yourself from overheating in these situations? One strategy is called “Mentalizing,” or otherwise known as theory of mind. Instead of focusing on problems around you, consider and try to figure people out, almost as if they were characters in a novel. Concentrate on what makes them tick, what will they do next, what are they thinking and why?
By focusing here, it will prevent you from overreacting and help you keep your cool even during the hottest of moments!