Gulf Oil Spill: Savor the Beauty

My bride and I live on the Gulf of Mexico in Orange Beach, Alabama. We are about a mile from the Florida panhandle border with the Gulf of Mexico to our South and Perdido Bay and Ole River behind us. For us, the BP Oil Spill is a daily event, a constant presence, and a grim reality. I won't detail all the bad things associated with this event, but you can go to the Traumatized Psychologist for links to photos of the oil's arrivals on our shores. My preference is to talk about the other side of the coin and ways to cope and thrive in the presence of the bad news.

Numismatists (i.e., coin collectors) call the main or front side of a coin the Obverse and usually display the most important portions of new designs or a famous historical figure on it. The Reverse side usually has a formalized seal or representative design of the government that minted the coin. Think of our moods as different sides of a coin. The Obverse mental state is the pleasant, health enhancing side and the Reverse is the negative, stress inducing side. Not to take the metaphor too far, but the way our brain is wired does somewhat reflect this scenario.

Deep brain structures with names like amygdala and so forth are involved in strong emotions. In fact, from an evolutionary perspective the "default" system of our brain is set to a negative bias. This is part of our built-in survival mechanisms. We tend to see the bad, dangerous, threatening side of things. The good part of this brain wiring is that it keeps us alert and alive! The downside is that it can lead to a constant state of physical arousal that leads to stressful states. Think chronic high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, and insomnia.

The negative emotions tend to be stronger and stay longer than the positive ones like happiness and pleasure. Cognitive science tells us that what we need to do is train our brain to focus more on the positive feelings. The (no kidding!) happy thoughts trigger brain chemicals and hormones that enhance our health and well being. Here is the key point. We have to consciously, intentionally focus on the positive to reprogram our brains and moods to a positive state. Coming full circle to the oil spill we see that our task is not to awfulize about the oil we cannot see on the bottom of the Gulf. Rather, we need to see the blue sky, the blue green water, green grass, graceful seaguls and herrons swirling high in the sky. Don't bemoan the lack of motor boats and jet skis. Enjoy the quiet, the sound of gentle breezes and the waves on the beach. Think happy thoughts and this, too, shall pass.