Navigating the Chaos of "Maycember" with a Little Brain Science
These are the phrases I currently have on repeat in my head:
*What’s under their iceberg right now? *Stay curious. *What’s in the metaphorical backpack they’re carrying into this conversation? * Model what you want mirrored.
Welcome to "Maycember." This term perfectly captures the chaotic, overwhelming, over-scheduled nature of this season. Between school celebrations, graduations, after school activities, and major transitions, everything seems to move at full speed all at once. This end-of-the-year chaos is contagious, and if we aren't careful, it can show up in how we react to the people around us.
That’s why, lately, I am intentionally practicing perspective.
As a school counselor and therapist, I talk a lot about perspective because it isn't just a mindset shift—it's actual brain science. When stress hits, our amygdala (the brain's emotional alarm system) wants to drag us into fight, flight, or freeze mode. But when we consciously choose to pause and adopt a different perspective, we activate our Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). The PFC acts like a mental brake pedal, calming the amygdala down and allowing us to respond with clarity instead of raw emotion. This does take practice and not a mastery skillset.
(There is also fascinating brain science around how perspective fuels social awareness and deepens empathy, but I’ll save that for a later post!)
Perspective is incredibly powerful, especially when life feels dialed up to a ten. For me, helping hone my perspective meant getting back into the pool recently; nothing stills my mind and resets my brain quite like swimming.
How are you keeping your perspective during the Maycember madness? What helps you step back and take a breath?
