Emotional Resiliency and Accountability Training

*For organizations*

Module 1: Taking inventory of our personal nervous system tendencies

We will start the reflection activities with a focus on nervous system awareness. This awareness creates space between ourselves and our initial responses that can get in the way of hearing what we need to hear. That space allows for us to redirect our initial reactions towards humility and openness.

Note: To maintain emotional resiliency, we need boundaries. Discernment and self-protection are important – we must ask ourselves, “Am I really in danger?” Usually the answer is no.

Grounding and body scan (DON’T SKIP THIS STEP)

Please listen to the video directly below. Slowing down is powerful medicine, and will help you in the process of self-reflection. This is a practice you will be asked to do throughout this training.

For those who want to skip the body scans, and might be thinking "yeah, yeah, yeah, just get to the main points," this is an opportunity to break the pattern of urgency. The grounding and body scan practices are a primary aspect of this course.

Invitation: Jot down some notes on what you noticed during the body scan. There are no right or wrong noticings– even if you felt like you couldn’t get into it, it’s all useful information. (You will have the opportunity to share from your notes when you meet with Ronin and others during the group discussion.)

Taking inventory of our nervous system tendencies

For this activity, please watch the following video, and then complete the reflection questions below (please take some notes on what emerges for you).

Releasing ideas of how you should feel, and honoring your body’s intelligence to protect you, which of these listed below are your typical nervous system survival modes in life? (Some of what’s listed has overlapping themes– that’s OK. Just pay attention to what speaks to you.)

  • Deflation: deflated sense of self, downward shame spiral, low sense of self-worth, might have the vibe of “Help me!”
  • Fawn: people-pleasing, lack of boundaries, no sense of self, neglecting own needs
  • Seeking external validation— tell me who I am, how I should feel
  • Infantilizing self (common among white-bodied folks conditioned in as girls/women in a Christian-cultured family/school) – has a helpless child vibe, always has the vibe of “Help me!”
  • Flight: hiding, staying busy, avoiding interactions or situations, using perfectionism as an excuse to do nothing
  • Numbness: can’t seem to feel, stuck in the head and locked out of the heart, apathy, distancing, might have the vibe of “I’m not like those white people” or “I can’t feel you or your needs.”
  • Intellectualizing, thinking there’s a “right” way
  • Suddenly yawning a lot, getting very sleepy
  • Freeze: out-of-body experiences (dissociation), zoning out, have trouble making decisions, feeling emotionally and physically numb
  • Synaptic overload
  • Sense of urgency – hurry!
  • Inflation: inflated sense of self, defensiveness, prove we’re right/better, lacking in humility, might have the vibe of “Don’t you know who I am!?!”
  • Fight: explosive, controlling others, yelling, bullying

Now do a body scan once again to see what your body needs before leaving this module. Do you need to take a walk? Get some food or water? Take some deep breaths? What emotions can you feel? What do these emotions need (you can ask them)?

CLICK HERE FOR MODULE 2

Click on the titles below to jump around to other modules:

Email us at info@apok-ccrf if you need support.