Mental Short-Circuit

Imagine this scenario: Someone says something that suddenly triggers a negative emotion within you. You feel insecure, frustrated, attacked, or inferior. At that moment, it feels like your conscious mind shuts down, leaving only space for negative thoughts like: "now you'll get it," "I won't speak again," "you won't do this to me again," or "why bother talking? I might as well stay silent."

I call this a mental short-circuit. It's that moment when your rational mind seems to disconnect, as if you've been hit with a poisoned dart affecting your deepest values. Control shifts from the prefrontal cortex of your brain, where reason resides, to the limbic system, responsible for emotions. From there, your decisions are driven more by emotion than logic.

Certain people, comments, or situations can act as triggers, pulling us into this state automatically. Let's look at a fictional example:

Sergio and Silvia's case

Sergio is calm and introverted. He doesn't often express his emotions and prefers to stay in the background at work, although his team values him greatly. However, since Silvia joined the team, he has begun to display behaviors that are out of character for him, such as responding with stronger comments during meetings.

Silvia has a very different personality: she enjoys being the center of attention, is self-confident, and sometimes competes with others whom she perceives as rivals. Unintentionally, she has made Sergio feel like that rival. For his part, Sergio doesn't understand why he is so affected by what Silvia says or does, and he becomes frustrated with himself for "taking the bait."

Silvia represents values that clash with Sergio's.

Sergio's values: respect, honesty, safety, and justice.

Silvia's values: worthiness, courage, security, and effort.

Both share the value of safety, but they interpret it differently. For Sergio, safety means peace, while for Silvia it means creating her own space, even if that involves confrontation when necessary. It's not that Silvia is being malicious or attacking Sergio; rather, their personalities unconsciously activate a short-circuit in Sergio.

The human brain is designed to protect us. When it detects a threat (real or perceived), it activates the survival mode. This mechanism can lead you to react emotionally and automatically, even if there is no real danger.

In Sergio's case, his brain perceives Silvia as a threat to his personal values. If Sergio doesn’t learn to manage this response, he will continue to react from his emotional system, without room for rational analysis.

How can we identify mental short-circuits?

• You find yourself ruminating on negative thoughts in a loop.

• Just thinking about someone causes emotional discomfort.

• Your mood drastically changes due to a specific situation.

  
  

If Sergio decides to start working on how he thinks and feels, he will learn how to reverse that short-circuit. With practice, he can even anticipate when it will happen.

I invite you to analyze what or who often changes your mood, emotions, or even your physical sensations negatively. Learning to identify and manage these situations can completely transform how you perceive the world and how you react to it.

Knowing oneself better not only helps us to be at peace with others but also with ourselves.

Image by Freepik

Melinda Sánchez Coach

www.melindasanchezcoach.com