Meditation and the Brain's Default Mode: How to calm your nervous system

WHAT IS THE DEFAULT MODE?

In recent decades, one of the most exciting areas of development for a new understanding of anxiety has been in the area of brain science, or neurology. Research has revealed the existence of two basic ways in which the self operates - when it is internally focused (the default mode), and when it is externally focused (task positive mode).

Broadly speaking, when we are not doing anything in particular, and the mind takes over and does its own thing, so to speak, we are in the default mode network. This can take the form of looking out the window and daydreaming and fantasizing, and also - less pleasant - replaying again and again some uncomfortable interaction that happened last week (or last year), or expecting the worst as we think about that meeting next week. It is the mode of self-reflection and our narrative 'story' which - no surprise here - often takes the form of self recrimination.

There is nothing necessarily wrong about this, the mind after all is essentially a survival mechanism, not a happiness mechanism, and we need to be reminded of mistakes, possible threats and so on; it is when these functions take over and exceed their useful purpose that anxiety, for example, can turn onto an anxiety disorder, like constant worry.

When we turn our attention to the world, as we do when we begin a project, we are in task positive mode network, which is pretty much what it sounds like: focusing on getting something done and taking some action. These two modes are negatively correlated, which is to say, you can't be in both modes at the same time, and this has significant implications for how we address issues of anxiety and rumination (which is a sort of excessive default mode).

ANXIETY AND THE DEFAULT MODE

You may notice that you feel worse when you are on your own and thinking about your problems and how to fix them. You may also notice that the more you think about them, the worse you feel, and studies on rumination help explain why this might be so. When we're feeling anxious, our mind is typically looking to address uncertainty, but as we examine various outcomes and negative possibilities proliferate, we increase anxiety, not the least of which is that none of it has a actually happened yet, as real as they can feel. Not only that, but because the default mode can be suffused with self-blame, we are highlighting our deficiencies as we do so.

How can I tell if I am ruminating, I am frequently asked? If it feels old, like I've run through this story about myself for so long, with no resolution, and why do I still feel this way about myself anyway? it's likely rumination. Once you identify that you are ruminating, ask yourself, what is the likely outcome if I continue down this rabbit hole? Based on your actual personal experience, will the next 15 minutes or more of ruminating make you feel better, or finally help you fix myself? Probably it will have the opposite effect; the good news is that you don't have to fix yourself to reduce your overthinking and anxiety.

So what can you do? A good part of the answer lies in the other mode of self, the task positive mode. As mentioned above, when we are in one mode, the other is excluded, though we may of course switch back and forth. To get out of the default worrying mode, the simplest thing we can do is to take action and focus on a project. This may be as simple as getting up to do the dishes, thus changing the focus of our attention in the moment. The main point I want to make is that when you notice you are ruminating, you're likely not doing anything else. So if you simply get up and do something externally focused, whether it's tidying up your space, going for a walk, talking to a friend, or answering an email you've been avoiding, this will begin the process of shifting out of the default mode.

The default mode may not easily be dismissed, however, especially if we feel we have serious threats and worries to consider. Sometimes we do, and part of the work here is to distinguish when we need to think about a realistic threat, and make a plan, or its more like habitual worry. Truthfully, for a good portion of the times, especially if we are regular worriers and ruminators, what we are really dealing with are old internal patterns and stories.

The truth is that it's not that hard to tell the difference; if we are worrying about that exam tomorrow because we need to study, that is far more likely to be an issue to be addressed by action, rather then sitting around beating ourselves up because I always procrastinate. In fact, there is some evidence that ruminating can actually function as a way to avoid difficult feelings and actions, under the guise of worrying about them. If this is the case, and we notice this, we can start in a small way to take some action, which over time we can make a habit of, rather then automatically falling back into the habit of rumination.

HOW DOES MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS HELP?

One of the main 'actions' we can take that will have long term benefits, is mindfulness and meditation.

One of the characteristic feelings we can have when ruminating or worrying is the feeling of being totally caught up in it, despite some awareness that it's probably not doing us much good and is really quite unpleasant. Nonetheless, we can't seem to stop it. Both meditation and mindfulness address this using the same principle, which we might term as looking at the thoughts and feelings rather than from them, or more, simply, simply being the observer of them rather than being caught up in them.

Sometimes, as we practice these skills, we may get some immediate relief but other times (especially with more disturbing thoughts and feelings), we don't right away. It is important to remember two things here: first, this is a practice, it takes a while and is about acceptance and progress, not perfection. Gradually we become more adept at just noticing what is happening, without the usual inner grasping or pushing away. Another expression for this is "letting go", though I prefer "letting be", which makes it clearer that we're not trying to interfere with the experience.

Second, we are absolutely not trying to not have these feelings and thoughts, we are changing our relationship to them, not trying to control or avoid them, which usually sets up a struggle that we can't win. Instead, as we allow and observe them over time, we can find that it is easier to let even very undesirable thoughts and feelings come and go on their own, rather than immediately intervening to try to feel less uncomfortable. After all, a thought is just a thought that usually comes and goes pretty quickly, to be followed by the next thought, and the next. The degree of 'stickiness' of the thought is directly related to how much we believe it and are caught by it; this practice is about unhooking from the thought, not escaping from it.

The Zen teacher, Diane Musho Hamilton, talks about the long-term benefits of meditation in this way: as we meditate we are certainly looking for peace and are much more likely to find it the more we meditate, than if we are being pulled around by our habitual patterns and thoughts. But she makes the point that the real benefit of long-term meditation is stability, by what she means the gradual creation of an inner 'secure base' of ongoing awareness that allows whatever arises to come and go without destabilizing us and overwhelming us. Change is constant and trying to change the world to my liking, much of which is out of our control, is frankly, exhausting.

Again, it is not so much about changing the content of our thoughts and feelings then it is our relationship to them. The reality is we don't necessarily have that much control over our inner life, even over the next thought we will have, despite our best efforts. Over time we become more self-accepting because we don't have the same control agenda that we always had with difficult thoughts and feelings, and indeed, others.

Its all about the 'bad' parts of us we are trying to strong arm out of existence rather than approaching all of ourselves with understanding and kindness. This doesn't mean we don't try to follow our goals and values in life as best we can - these are actions we can take to pursue these, over which we do have a greater degree of control.

But for our inner experience, the self-acceptance becomes about being whole and complete, not feeling as if we are on a constant path to get somewhere else so that we can finally feel we've arrived, that we're good enough, an approach that invariably ends up with us rejecting each moment in favor of an imagined ideal future self that never seems to materialize. And we've sure tried!

Psychology Today - Default Mode