hack your brain: emotional intelligence at work and beyond · health magazine, headspace, science,...

73rd AnnualTexas Association

of County Auditors Fall Conference

Holiday Inn San Antonio RiverwalkSan Antonio, Texas

October 16-19, 2018

AnniversarySAN ANTONIO

300

DE BÉJAR

th

Welcome to the River City

Hack Your Brain:

Emotional Intelligence at

Work and Beyond

Tuesday, October 16

1-1:50 p.m.

Dr. Lindsay Bira, LLC, Clinical Health

Psychologist

Dr. Bira’s keynote presentation will help

attendees understand the human factor

behind work: How our tricky brains trip

us up to make stress heavier and

performance harder. She will discuss

brain function and work stress, building

emotional intelligence, and the power of

mindfulness. Attendees will take

ajourney into perception to learn how the

brain works in the background to create

our experience of life, and how to reverse

that through awareness, insight, and

practice to maximize performance and

health in the workplace and beyond.

Dr. Lindsay Bira, LLC, Clinical

Health Psychologist, San Antonio

Dr. Bira is a clinical health psychologist,

TEDx speaker, and served as assistant

professor of psychiatry at UT Health San

Antonio. She has clinical research

specialty in behavioral medicine and

PTSD/trauma. She speaks often on the

topic of mental health and wellbeing,

serves as a consultant on projects that

seek to incorporate mental health, and

runs a private practice, treating adults

and teens for a range of issues. She

received her Ph.D. in clinical health

psychology from University of Miami.

She completed residency with Harvard

Medical School and Boston University

School of Medicine before completing an

additional two-year fellowship in trauma

psychology. Dr. Bira has been featured

by TEDx, Texas Public Radio, Women’s

Health Magazine, Headspace, Science,

Nature Biotech, and more for her work in

PTSD, mindfulness, brain health and

personal growth. She is passionate about

breaking stigma around mental health to

improve wellbeing and works to bridge

the gap between complex research and

global understanding.

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STRESS

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XX … Y … Z

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BRAIN TRICKS

• Emotions• Gut feelings

• Thoughts• Core beliefs

• Jumping to Conclusions / Judgments•Mind reading• Future telling

•Our own filter• How we see the world

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• Mindfulness is an active process of building awareness into your present experience (internal & external)

• Buddhist roots (all religion)

• Western world:  Jon Kabat‐Zinn (1979)

• Grey matter growth in hippocampus (Lazar et al. 2011) 

• Structural changes in amygdala (Jha et al. 2010)

• Formal & informal practice

MINDFULNESS

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Diaphragmatic Breathing

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Relaxed BreathingWhen we are anxious or threatened our breathing speeds up in order to get our body ready for danger. Relaxed breathing (sometimes called abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing) signals the body that it is safe to relax. Relaxed breathing is slower and deeperthan normal breathing, and it happens lower in the body (the belly rather than the chest).

How to do relaxed breathing • To practice make sure you are sitting or lying comfortably – close your eyes • Try to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth• As you breath in, allow your belly to expand and then your chest will follow• Deliberately slow your breathing down. Breathe in for a count of 4, pause, then breathe

out for a count of 8 – the outbreath should be twice as long as the in-breath• Make sure that your breaths are smooth, steady, and continuous - not jerky• Pay particular attention to your out-breath - make sure it is smooth and steady

Am I doing it right? What should I be paying attention to? • Relaxed breathing should be low down in the abdomen (belly), and not high in the

chest. You can check this by putting one hand on your stomach and one on your chest Try to keep the top hand still, your breathing should only move the bottom hand

• Focus your attention on your breath - some people find it helpful to count in their head to begin with (”In ... two ... three ... four ... pause ... Out ... two ... three ... four ...”)

How long and how often? • Try breathing in a relaxed way for at least a few minutes at a time - it might take a few

minutes for you to notice an effect. If you are comfortable, aim for 5-10 minutes • Try to practice regularly - perhaps three times a day

Variations and troubleshooting • Find a slow breathing rhythm that is comfortable for you. Counting to 4 isn’t an

absolute rule. Try 3 or 5.The important thing is that the breathing is slow and steady and the outbreath is longer than the in-breath

• Some people find the sensation of relaxing to be unusual or uncomfortable at first but this normally passes with practice. Do persist and keep practicing

In-breath Pause Out-breath1 … 2 ... 3 ... 4 4 seconds 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. 5 .. 6 .. 7 .. 8

WhatisMindfulness?Mindfulnessisapractice+brainexercisethatbuildsemotionalintelligenceandwellbeing.Itisaformof

self-awarenesstrainingadaptedfromBuddhistmeditation– muchresearchshowsbenefitsofmindfulness

alone.Mindfulnessisaboutbeingawareofwhatishappeningineachmoment,withoutmakingjudgements

aboutwhatwenotice.Thepracticeofitisakeyingredientinavarietyofevidence-basedpsychotherapies,

includingdialecticalbehaviortherapy(DBT)andacceptanceandcommitmenttherapy(ACT).

WhyshouldIpracticemindfulness?Ourmindscanbefocusedonmanythings,butweoftenfindourselves

ruminatingaboutthingsthathavealreadyhappened(leadingtoguilt,

regret),orworryingaboutthingsthatcouldhappen.Thiscanactivate

thestressresponseorleadtomentalhealthstruggles.

Mindfulnessisapracticewhichtrainsthebraintoattendtothepresentmoment.

Thereisgoodevidencethatmindfulnesspracticecanhelppeoplecopewith

depressionandanxiety,andalsophysicalhealthconditionsincludingpainandchronic

illness. Mindfulnesshelpsusridethewavesoflifewithmorecontroloveremotions.

Can’tIpayattentiontothepresentmomentalready?Wecanallpayattentiontothepresentmoment,atleastforashortwhile.Youwillnoticethoughthatyour

attentionwandersandisnoteasilycontrolled.Mindfulnessisaboutcatchingit,whichstrengthensour

abilitytocontrolourattentionandincreasesourawarenessofhowourmindsfluctuate(ofteninunhelpful

ways).Peoplewhopracticemindfulnessregularlyfindthatithelpstheirabilitytostayinthepresent

momentwithoutbeingdistracted,andimprovescontroloveremotions,thoughtsandbehaviors.

Whatdoesitmeantohavea‘non-judgmentalattitude’ortoobservewith‘gentlecuriosity’?Epictetus,aGreekphilosopher,said“Peoplearedisturbednotbyathing,butbytheirperceptionofathing.”

Howwethinkaboutourexperiencescanleadtomoredistress.Thisisacoreideaintherapieslikecognitive

behavioraltherapy(CBT),andmindfulawarenessisthefirststepinbuildingemotionalintelligenceand

gainingcontrol.Forexample,noticingjudgmentalthoughtslike“thisshouldn’tbehappening”and“Ican’t

dealwithit”aswellastheemotionsthatareattachedtothemprovidesanopportunitytoshiftintosimply

observingnon-judgmentally.Practicingmindfulnessteachesustoacceptmoreofourexperiencewithout

judgingitandemotionallyreacting.Thisgetsusoutofouranimalbrainandstrengthensneuronconnections

inourfrontallobe,whichhasbeenshowntohelppeoplefeelmoreincontrolandlivemorefulfillinglives.

“Mindfulnessmeanspayingattentioninaparticularway:onpurpose,inthepresentmoment,andnon-judgmentally”

- JohnKabat-Zinn,WhereverYouGo,ThereYouAre(1994)

Present

Being

Future

WorryFretting

Past

RuminationBrooding

www.DrLindsayBira.com

WAYSTOPRACTICE

1.Diaphragmaticbreathing:noticethebreath,bellybreathe,countbreaths

2.Object-focused:Pickanobjectandpretendyou’veneverseenitbefore.Whatdoyounotice?

3.Senses:Notice5colorsyousee,4noises,3thingsyoufeeloutside,2inside,1smell.

4.BodyScan:Fromheadtotoe,noticeallsensations,inside&outside,andrelaxallmuscles.

MindfulnessAudiosAvailableat:

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