I was talking with a fellow who farms near Swift Current, Sask., about an argument he’d had with an insurance agent. He and the agent were arguing over the settlement of a vehicle accident. He said he got so flustered with the agent, he couldn’t think straight. It was the next day before he thought of a couple of arguments he could have used to get a few extra dollars.
He said the settlement didn’t turn out too badly, but what bothered him was that he couldn’t think of the right things to say on the spot.
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Maybe you’ve been there too. You get in a rip-roaring argument with your boss, or the elevator agent or even your spouse. Only when the argument is over do you think of what you should have said. Instead, you reacted without thinking or couldn’t come up with any response at all.
I don’t know how many times this kind of thing has happened to me but it never seems fair. Why would my brain quit when I need it most?
Well, there is a chemical explanation for the brain dead syndrome. In fact, it turns out that it may have been useful a long time ago.
Stress affects the prefrontal cortex, the executive section of our brain that regulates thoughts, behaviour and emotions. New research says the way it does this is through a messenger compound called protein kinase C, or PKC. When you get stressed, your PKC production goes up, your creativity drops, and you can’t remember things, including a whip-smart comeback.
When Amy Arnsten and her colleagues at Yale Medical School increased PKC levels in rats and monkeys, the animals got stupid. Before the test, they had an easy time finding a chocolate chip they had seen before. But after getting a chemical that increased their PKC levels, they had trouble finding it.
PKC may also be involved in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, as people suffering from both diseases appear to have elevated PKC levels. Arnsten and her team are now working to see whether blocking PKC production can help.
So what’s the point of “getting dumb” when you are under stress? Some scientists think it can be helpful to be reactive under stress. When a flesh-eating predator is after you, you want to react instinctively. You do not want to stop and ponder the best course of action.
That’s fine for cave men, but what do we do in our world when we are stressed? Maybe the best strategy is to take mother’s advice and count to 10 before replying in a heated situation. A pause will help drop our PKC level, which will help our brain come up with a better response. It might help keep us from saying something we will regret later as well.
When I was a TV news reporter facing a tight deadline and my brain wouldn’t co-operate, I would take a short break, have a coffee, and think about something else. When I got back to my keyboard, even if only five minutes later, the words seemed to flow, and I invariably met the deadline.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton speaks at conventions and for corporations on Farming/Ranching at Midlife – Strategies for a Successful Second Age. He can be reached at 780-432-5492, e-mail noel@midlife-men.com or visit www.midlife-men.com.
