CFT: Session 3

Home work check in: Practice SRB twice per day last week….

This session: 3 Types of emotional systems 1. Driven, excited, vital 2. Contented, safe, connected 3. Anger, Anxiety, Disgust

All are normal, all helped us to survive, we all have them…

The Threat system: Make us pay attention to threat: things

that might harm us… Emotions: Anger, fear, anxiety, disguist Activates powerful bursts of emotion

that activate our survival response: Fight Flight Freeze/submit

Threat emotions are pushy… We have evolved to pay more attention

to threat:

Better safe than sorry…. Threat emotions are very efficient (fast

and automatic) Kept our ancestors alive Threat based learning can persist very

strongly from one incident (imagine what happens after repeated incidents??)

Keeps going and going:

How? New brain (ability to think about the

future, worry, create imagery) feeds the initial fear, keeping it going, sometimes for a lifetime (e.g. worry and rumination)

When it’s balanced with the other systems, it can keep us safe

But.. it often takes up more than it’s fair share of brain space.. Not in balance.

The Drive System: Our ancestors needed to acquire things to

survive and prosper: food, shelter, comfort, mates, social position

Feelings: Excitement, lust, ambition Actions: wanting, pursuing, achieving,

consuming Activates Dopamine (related to addiction),

continual pursuit of pleasure rushes… When balanced, keeps us goal-oriented

The Soothing System Associated with feelings of safeness,

calm, peacefulness, contentment Associated with experiences of

kindness, affection, acceptance and connectedness

During this state, our attention opens, becomes reflective, relaxed.

We want to explore, be curious, giving to others, and social

Safeness and Social Connection: Disrupted attachment

histories, interpersonal trauma causes closeness to be associated with threat instead of safety

Dilemma? What do we do when experience has

taught us to fear the very connections that we need to feel safe?

Getting the safeness system “online” Different systems “organize the mind” in

different ways:

In a dark alleySomeone begins to follow you

Fear

Attention

Thinking and

Reasoning

Motivation

Behavior

Images

Emotions:Mind and

Body

Relaxing at the beachWith a good friend…

Safe and Soothed

Attention

Thinking and

Reasoning

Motivation

Behavior

Images

Emotions:Mind and

Body

Summary: The three circles allow us to shift from,

“there’s something wrong with me” to we all have these feelings because they helped our ancestors survive

We see that self-attacking continues to activate the threat system, compassion gets the safeness system working

Homework: Complete the self-critical vs self

compassion thought record Catch, Challenge then Change!