The Brain in the Palm of your Hand: Dan Siegel’s Hand Model
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Over the past few weeks, we have been talking about how the different parts of the brain impact behavior, emotions, and learning.
We’ve talked about how powerful the upstairs and downstairs brain is in influencing learning and our fight, flight, freeze or fawn reactions. The downstairs brain keeps us safe, so we can think of it as the barking dog. Whenever a dog feels unsafe, it will either run, attack, or simply stand still barking. When it feels safe again, the barking stops.
A barking dog always makes the wise owl fly away. The lid is flipped, and it is hard to calm down unless we engage in a calming strategy such as breathing exercises to calm the barking dog. Only when the barking stops can the upstairs brain kick in and think about solving the problem thanks to the vision of the wise owl.
Today, we’ll talk about how you can teach your kiddos about the emotional brain, and its functions. We’ll use Dan Siegel’s metaphor – the Hand Model of the Brain. Dr. Siegel explains it here, and another example is shown here. This hand model will help your kiddos better understand what’s happening in their brain.
The model is all about being present in the moment. You know that buzz word “mindfulness”…... this is it!
The more we commit to bringing mindfulness to ourselves, the more activity there will be in our prefrontal cortex or “thinking brain” (acts as a “brake” on our emotional reactivity) and the less there will be in our amygdala or “emotional brain” (acts as an accelerator).
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A closed fist shows an emotionally regulated brain that’s responsible for making rational and wise decisions. The amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and brain stem are all connected. The outer part of your folded fist is the cortex where all the planning and thinking happens.
The wrist is the brain stem. That part is connected to the spine and is responsible for alertness, sleep, heartbeat, and other involuntary body actions.
When the thumb is folded across your open palm, you get to see the mid-brain where all emotions are processed, and memory is stored. It is your limbic system where the safety radar (amygdala) resides.
With an open palm and thumb folded across, your fingers are the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain processes all information and how those details relate to others. It can be understanding about morality, others’ feelings, how to regulate emotions, make choices, read body language, etc. So, think secondary emotional brain, but this one focuses on higher order emotional stuff.
At that point, when our fingers are raised, the prefrontal cortex and amygdala disconnect. It is what we refer to as “Flip our Lids”. It happens when we get angry or stressed about something. The prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) shuts down, and it no longer works with the rest of the brain.
At this stage, we can’t use our problem-solving skills, logic or reason. This is where the tantrums and meltdowns kick in, and it’s super hard to make any thoughtful decision when we are angry. The brain needs to take a breather to be able to reconnect.
With the hand model, kiddos can easily explain where their brain is at the moment. I’ve found it’s a meaningful way for them to understand themselves and others better. They get why they can go from angry to mean and happy to sad in a snap.
I hope this will help you teach your kiddos to regulate emotions and self by making them more aware of what’s happening in their brain. #mindfulness
Try explaining this hand model to your kiddos. Come back and let me know how it goes! And if you need more help, I am here anytime.
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