How the brain works

Blue head/Red head: Two brains two (very) different outcomes

 You have two brains.

 Well, not in the literal sense (obviously).

But a resourceful brain and a triggered brain behave so differently; they might as well be two distinct organs.

In simple terms, we have a red head and a blue head.

Most of the time, we’ve got a blue head. Our logical brain is in control, and we're fully able to bring our best selves.

However, when conflict strikes, our red head can take over. This is our emotional brain. And when it's in the driving seat, the quality of our conversation or ability to do a task plummets.

Not ideal.

The problem is, conflict is inevitable, and the last thing we want is to flip our lids and go into red head mode at the slightest hint of a disagreement. But before you can control your reaction and stay in that blue headspace, you need to understand what’s going on in your brain to cause the shift.

Here’s what you need to know:

Blue Head – Rational, thoughtful, and in control

More often than not, we’re led by a blue head.

We’re in a good place and able to carefully and intelligently work through problems, manage our interactions and, ultimately, get on with our day.

This is because our prefrontal cortex is in charge. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that’s responsible for what we call “higher” brain functions:

• Thinking
• Problem-solving
• Convincing
• Negotiating
• Rational decision-making

In many ways, it’s the part of our brain that makes us human.

It allows us to self-actualise, build lasting, fruitful relationships, and do all of the things that are necessary to engage with (and improve) the incredible societies we've built over millennia.

It goes without saying that it’d be ideal if everyone was in blue head mode all of the time. But every now and again, even the best of us get pulled into…

Red Head – Irrational, emotional, and triggered

When conflicts arise, we're having a bad day, are tired, stressed or otherwise not quite right; we're led by a red head.

A red head hinders us in so many ways - from stopping us from managing conflict to getting on with our day-to-day tasks.

This is because a red head results when our amygdala takes control. The amygdala sits deep in the brain, near the brainstem (the part of the brain responsible for life-sustaining functions like heart and breathing rate). As you'd expect for such an ancient, primal structure the behaviours it produces in us are far from the considered, careful actions we need to take to bring our best selves.

Typical red head behaviours include:

• Black and white thinking
• Poor listening
• Jumping to conclusions
• Paranoia
• Catastrophising
• Being judgemental

There’s little doubt that an amygdala-led red head (sometimes called an amygdala hijack) was the ideal response in the distant past. After all, you can’t negotiate with a sabre-toothed tiger. Nor is there much time for rational thinking when that sabre-toothed tiger decides that you’re dinner. In those life-or-death situations, rapid and aggressive reactions were crucial for our survival.

But as you’ll see from the list above, there’s more to red head reactions than aggression.

Our amygdalas drive all sorts of unhelpful emotional reactions that range from fear to submission. And the particular emotions you experience will be determined by your personality, experiences, situation, and so on.

Whatever the specific reaction, a brain that’s under the amygdala’s spell isn’t a brain that’s performing at its peak. In fact, our IQ can drop by about 20 points!

This is significant because IQ is a measure of our ability to think and solve problems.

The average IQ is 100. Therefore, a 20 point drop represents a 20% decrease in our cognitive power. So if you're wondering why you struggle to solve a problem when you’re triggered (even if the solution is obvious when you’ve calmed down), this is why!

Moving from blue to red, and back again

It’s important to recognise a sudden shift from blue head to red head isn’t your fault.

The systems that regulate these responses are pretty much automatic and hard-wired into our human programming – as you’d expect from what is, essentially, a survival tool.

However, you can bring yourself down and control the shift from red back to blue.

Here’s how:

1. Recognise

You can’t transition from red head back to blue head if you don’t realise you’re running red to begin with!

Therefore, it's a good idea to consciously take mental "check-ins" throughout the day, but especially when you're in a situation you know could potentially trigger you – be it a conflict, task, environment, etc.

2. Stop

Once you’ve realised that you’ve got a red head – stop!

Obviously, you can't stop talking mid-sentence, nor can you abandon a critical task, but you can take a quick pause. A simple, "can we pause for a second" to a colleague you've found yourself in conflict with, or stopping for a glass of water or to make a cup of tea when a task starts to frustrate you is all it takes to break the cycle.

3. Breath

You can physically take a deep breath here, though a mental “breath” works just as well. Then, simply focus on your breathing for a few seconds. Feel the air going in and out, let your heart rate slow and wait for your focus to return.

If you’ve got company, or you’re speaking to a colleague directly, just let them know what’s going on and don’t be afraid to ask to step outside for a couple of minutes.

4. Get curious!

You should now feel your blue head start to reassert control.

Once you feel yourself ascending the Feelings Ladder, it’s time to get curious and figure what happened and why. This learning process is critical because you’ll not only grow to understand your triggers and reactions better, but you’ll also find it easier to avoid flipping into red head in the first place.

Now, to re-iterate the point at the start of this section – this isn't fool-proof, and no matter how well you grow to understand yourself, you'll still flip from blue to red from time to time. This is a normal part of being human, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try our best to stay blue!

Stay calm, curious, and confident for a happy, healthy working day

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Angela

Angela is the founder of Juicing the Lemon, a consultancy that helps businesses have the difficult conversations that are the key to a healthy, transparent workplace culture. Juicing the Lemon’s workshops and packages of learning are built on a firm foundation of research, delivered in a way that’s accessible to people at all levels of an organisation. Clients include Allied Bakeries, Silver Spoon, Twinings, Medicine San Frontier, and the NHS.