195: Heidi Hanna — Taking Care of Your Mental Health During a Crisis

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Warnings to put on your own oxygen mask first in the event of a loss of cabin pressure. You can't lead your team if you're losing it yourself. We interview mental health and well being expert Heidi Hanna. In this episode you'll hear about using self awareness and mindfulness techniques to move through your own fears and stress about what's happening in your world right now. You'll be far more effective if you take these steps before and as you try to lead your teams. Hi, I'm Bill Gallagher, scaling coach and host of the show. This episode is one in a series of five episodes on the five big moves that leaders need to make right now in order to navigate a major crisis like the one we are facing today. You'll find this series and about 200 other episodes on leadership and Scaling up at our website scalingcoach.com you'll also find downloads of all the tools we talk about and you can even get a free copy of the international best selling book Scaling up right there@scalingcoach.com Listen in now as we talk to Heidi Hanna. All right, so I'm joined now by Heidi Hannah. Guys, Heidi is a, she's an expert in brain science. She's author, speaker, all around guru in this area and a lovely human being.

Thank you.

So Heidi, welcome to the show. Heidi's down. You're down in the LA area today and normally based in San Diego.

Yeah, that's right. So I'm actually, I'm based in San Diego but I am in school and teaching school this semester. So I'm actually in a program at Pepperdine while teaching at Harvard which is been really cool.

Yeah, well seeing what happens with schools now. I know as we were just sitting up the recording you said that Harvard is canceling Stuff.

Yes. And so actually being connected now to these two universities has heightened my own awareness of things like what we're dealing with right now with the coronavirus, but also just natural disasters and emergencies. And we've had, you know, on campus, people with guns and, you know, just things that normally on a day to day basis, I'm not faced with those types of, like, email alerts. And so it's been a really interesting experience for me being on that side of things. And Harvard actually just went to the extreme of actually putting all of their classes online. So everyone that's there in Boston, on campus is. Is required to meet on Zoom. So.

Well, I've just come back from traveling across six countries and I'll have a number of other cities to go to. And all of my events got canceled. And I'm hearing from some people, like, I don't really get it, like, it all seems like normal and business as usual. Other people are like, well, my retirement money has just dwindled to down substantially. Other people are like, well, I'm not going to indulge that. I'm going to. Right. So it seems like there's a range of reactions.

I think there is. And I think that no matter what the reaction, it's pretty intense right now. I mean, I think emotions are very high. So whether people are denying, they're denying like adamantly, and the people that are freaking out are freaking out pretty adamantly as well. And I think that's honestly one of the risks and one of the lessons in what we're dealing with right now is, number one, to just really check in with, you know, what are the good sources of information and what are those sources saying and what can I best do in the face of a challenge like this to really be resilient and maybe even learn a new way of doing life in a better way. I mean, it's always hard in the midst of things to necessarily have that lens, but I certainly have seen in my own life that it's caused me to take a step back and really think about, you know, what are the little things I can do to take better care of myself, to improve my immune function and even to spread a little bit of positivity in the midst of these difficult circumstances.

Right. So we started, I was in a session earlier today, a workshop, and we began the day with like 30 people. And we began the day with a kind of a guided meditation to settle people. Right. Noting that folks are all over the place. And I know if you listen to the news or watch The TV or read. It's all this particular crisis. Right. Is all people are talking about. What are your tips or suggestions for people in dealing with all of that?

Yeah, I think there's kind of three steps that I like to think about in any sort of situation like this. The first one is just awareness of what's actually happening. And I think with that is you.

Mean like the facts or with you?

Both.

I think, you know, really getting a sense of what the facts are, but also just validating our experience that this is a difficult time. So I think everyone's being really careful to say, you know, when I'm being asked to, for example, discuss the stress of the situation, to also not want to minimize that everyone's having their own unique experience and that there's nothing wrong with that. I think where we really run into trouble is when we overly deny or get kind of angry, aggressive at people who have concerns is, you know, we're. We're not only minimizing theirs, but it just kind of causes the tension to really build up in our own self instead of just saying, hey, I acknowledge that this is hard. And from that space I can really appreciate my experience of that. So part of what mindfulness is about is not ignoring our pain or our challenge or difficulties, but practicing a little bit more self compassion and just saying this is hard. And maybe I am feeling overwhelmed or stressed out or whatever it might be. I mean, I don't know if it's coming through on the podcast, but I've had a cold for about five days and the judgy looks that I get from people right now are kind of crazy. And, you know, I have a chest cold like people do this time of year. But people are not treating each other very kindly right now. So I think again, it's that, you know, we're in a unique situation and to really just be aware that it is what it is and appreciate that we all have our own unique way of dealing with that. But then in the same sense, like look for ways we can adapt more effectively. So, you know, here I am and I've got a head cold. And I know people are really heightened to that right now. So I'm doing the best things that I know how with getting adequate rest, taking lots of vitamin C, actually getting outside and moving and spending some time in the fresh air. But I'm also really being intentional about practicing things like healthy humor and not overdosing on the news, but actually watching or listening to some comedy. I went to a magic show the other night Getting a chance to nurture and nourish what we enjoy about life doesn't eliminate what's challenging. It just gives us more bandwidth to be able to be flexible and adaptable, you know, when those things happen. So I think those really basic self care strategies are more important now than ever. And then if we can layer onto that some compassion for each other and just understanding, you know, these unique experiences that everyone's having, be a little bit more patient with people, we might be surprised how much more quickly we can cope from the situation together.

Well, I, So I noticed for myself too, like I always, I sneeze frequently, I have allergies and I'm. But now everybody's alarmed by it as well. And weeks ago I had a cold and I continued to have a cough even as I traveled. But I've done a lot more effort to contain that cough, not to a lot of people. Now can I say definitively that this is not the virus that people are worried about or that you don't have that? I don't know that we can say that because we don't have tests. But, but like every cold, everything is not a death sentence. Right.

Well, and that's what really the authorities are coming out and saying time and time again is we have illnesses, we have viruses, we have the flu, we have allergies. You know, these things happen. And, and they're deadly. You know, many times they are deadly to people with weakened immune systems. High levels of stress.

I mean, that's regular flu. Yeah.

And, and really that's where stress plays this huge role. I mean, many people who are familiar with my story know that I got into studying stress because of my interest in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline, because that ran in my family. And then I found out the number one risk factor other than age is chronic stress. So it's not the traumatic things. The weird thing is that if this were to happen in one day or a couple of days and then resolve, our immune system would actually tightened because we have this natural capacity, you know, to, to improve ourselves temporarily for short term stress. The problem is the not knowing, you know, how long is this going to take. And then, you know, people are really in some situations overreacting and then you see the markets reacting. It's very reactive and that's what causes the more long term wear and tear. So for me as a stress expert and kind of watching all of this, I feel like at some point we're going to look back on the sit and really be able to evaluate more like what was the virus and what was the chaos or you know, chronic stress around the, around that. I mean we can't really separate it but it'll be interesting to see what maybe we could discover when we look back on the situation.

So I, I do a variety of forms of meditation all the time and I'll do and related practices. So I'll do like a body scan meditation or a walking meditation. I'll do gratitude practices, I will do awe practice, I just will take in the trees outside my, the windows in my bedroom, in my house, kinds of things to connect myself. And I remember in 2001 when it seemed like the whole world had stopped and like that, that when our trains, when our planes stopped flying for a few days and I had to look outside and go, you know, the trees didn't all just die, the sun didn't stop coming up, like I had to remind myself. And I found it very, I don't know, empowering, uplifting, centering to just notice that. And then over time I'm also doing things like noticing the feelings and sensations in the body where my mind and my thoughts are going. And I found myself turning. I'm like, okay, I don't need any more TV news, I don't need to read any more of this story. This is not new information in this, in this case, right? Things to call myself and to say, okay, well there are certain risks and there's going to be all these ripple effects of the crisis and how do I feel about it? What am I afraid of?

Right? It's a really good time to reflect on that. And that's where I see the real opportunity for growth. And again, I'm not the type of person that's like put on rose colored glasses right away and let's all look for the positive. I, we need to realistically deal with the situation that we're all facing. But to me it always goes back to demand versus capacity. And there's a lot of demand on us right now, emotionally, physically, mentally, you know, socially, how we're treating other people. And so we really have to recalibrate that somehow. We have to be filling our own tank. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the more you do those types of practices, the more automatic they become. And so a lot of people feel like, you know, you either have it or you don't. You're either blissed out or you're not. And as you know, it's, it's a practice. The more you do it, the more you do notice the Good things. And I always think about it as kind of a two step process. It's noticing, but it's also soaking in that sensation. And that's really important because that's actually like calming the nervous system down at a cellular level. It's like soaking in the sensation of nature and the sensation of kindness. And as I mentioned, humor is another great one of just the lightness of things at times, being able to play with our pain when we're at a point where we can do that again, not to minimize it, but just to find joy and to get that relief. And in a time when we're really being kind of forced to be isolated. I. I did a presentation a few days ago actually for a group of entrepreneurs in China and some of the other affected areas. And the thing that they were most struggling with was the social isolation. So while we do want to be cautious about not being in maybe big groups of people and traveling more than we need to, we still need each other. And so to have small group gatherings and to have meaningful conversations, I mean, this is, this is like food for our soul. And we have to keep those things going and really do our best to steer the conversations into areas that are more uplifting and more hopefully.

But, you know, I think it's good to underscore what we're not saying. I think is we're not saying avoid the feelings, right. We're not saying paper over them. You know, I think we're both saying lean into it, accept it, embrace it, allow it, grant it being so that you can have more, not be limited to it. Right. Like, if you're resisting it and just like insistent and you try to do something else on top of it, it just is there, Right?

Yeah. One of my favorite studies that came out recently, it was by a dear friend of mine who unfortunately passed away this year, Bruce McEwen. And he discovered that there's a situation in the brain we call neurogenesis where we're actually creating new brain cells. And it doesn't happen very often after a certain age in life. But what they found was that when we're experiencing stress and we have the chemical cortisol, which typically actually kills brain cells in certain parts of the brain, when we have cortisol and we have oxytocin, which is a bonding chemical that we release when we feel connected with somebody socially, that we actually have neurogenesis. So it changes the whole chemistry. It changes the dance of what's going on with our neurons when we experience stress with social bonding. And so I always say to people, you know, when we're going through a difficult time together and we really feel supported, this is actually really healthy for us that cortisol doesn't cause the breakdown. It actually helps us to build back up, but we have to feel connected. So again, it's not being super social or you know, having a bunch of followers on social media or going out all the time, but like that sensation of having relationships that you can count on and people that you can trust and meaningful conversations that actually makes these difficult times something that allows us to be stronger. And you mentioned, you know, 2001, I was on a plane on 911 and was stranded for a week in a hotel in Chicago. It was a very difficult time. I already had a fear of flying and I just remember seeing the most kindness I had ever seen between strangers and have ever seen to this day. And I would not want that situation to happen to anybody. But it was such an eye opening experience that it truly is in these moments. We see the darkest in some people, but we also see this brilliant light. And I feel like as leaders we all have the chance to be that kind of light for somebody. Again, not ignoring the difficulty, but walking with each other through it.

That's awesome. And you'll notice people that are going through that are just as keyed up or triggered or reacting in the same way you are having compassion for them or somebody who's done in a different way, who's headed in a different direction. I know I, I made an offhand comment within my family earlier today. I'm like, wow, look, life is a fatal disease and nobody gets out of this thing alive. So at some point we all. And, and I think that that freaked out a couple of members of my family and I didn't mean to make really to be too flippant about it a little bit but like, look, something gets us eventually. I hope it's not this, I hope it's not right now, not me or anyone else or anyone listening or like that. But you know, the flu or a car accident or something is gonna, you know, affect all of us eventually.

Absolutely. It's the uncertainty of life. And if you really get down to our greatest fears, you know that that's a big part of it. Sometimes it's just the fragility of life. We're reminded of it all the time. So I think in some ways that's a way we can use this experience for a positive stimulus is you know, just that reminder that we are fragile, we're human, we're in this together. And one of the best things that we can do to help our immune system, to help us to be healthier, to cope more effectively, and even from a business perspective, to help those that we lead is to have positive contagion. Just, you know, the, the calm through the storm and even the, the humor, healthy humor, when appropriate with the right group of people. That flippant comment. I have a lot of friends that would have cracked up about it. So, you know, part of it is just knowing, you know, your, your tribe. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe not certain people who are highly anxious. A statement like that just really kind of triggers their, their fear already. But for other people, it's like, you know, look, every day is a gift and let's make the most of it. And where's the opportunity in this, you know, dark time to have a positive effect?

Yeah. It occurs to have. Even if we acknowledge the low probability of individual impact, everybody's freaked out about being the, the one in a hundred or the two in 100 and, or being someone else around them, someone they care about, and, and, and nobody wants to be affected by all of that. And so there's that, that big reaction to the whole thing.

Yeah. And I, I guess I go back again to what you were saying earlier, which is, you know, how do we know we don't have. I mean, my mom just texted me again. It's like, everyone's going, are you still sick? And, you know, it's like, well, you sure you shouldn't? I wouldn't do anything different. I mean, a similar conversation I had when someone asked me if I would want to get tested to know if I had the Alzheimer's gene or, you know, if you knew you were going to get diabetes, would you do anything any different? Because I would treat it the same. I'm taking the same precautions. I'm not, you know, around people. I don't need to be. And I'm doing all the things I know that boost my immune system, including the meditation, the mindfulness, the positive thoughts, writing a handwritten thank you card to people, just simple things to cause a positive ripple effect have such a great impact on our own nervous system and immune function.

I think for me, one of the thing that you spoke about is when I notice a feeling is kind of leaning into it. I play music, I dance a lot, especially in the mornings as I'm getting ready, music's on, we're moving around the house. And sometimes before I go on and give a talk, I'll play music and I'll dance around and it gets the energy, the body moving, that kind of thing. But I, it's not always the same music and there are certainly things I listen to more than others, like all of us. But if I'm feeling kind of down, I'll play some down music and I'll move in a down way if I'm and, and then maybe I'll, I'll move beyond that, but I'll start wherever I'm at.

Yeah, all of those types of cues, those kind of like non conscious sensory cues are great. So music is fantastic. Sound is as well. So one of the research projects I'm working on is looking at the benefits of being at the be beach, but also just hearing the sound of the ocean or visualizing the ocean having more nature, different types of lighting, different essential oils. Again, these all seem so small when compared to this like global epidemic, but they all have a synergistic impact on like the energy that we have and our ability to cope. And so much of our immune functioning is actually impacted by our perception of how much capacity we have that we got to keep that, that in check too.

Yeah. And the body senses. All right, well that's, we've given folks enough to think about, I think. Take care of yourself. Put on your own oxygen mask first. Heidi Hannah, thanks so much for joining us. How do folks read more about you? What's your website?

Sure, people can find me@heidihanna.com heidihanna.com Heidi, be well. Thanks, you too.

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