Why, when traveling at high speed, is the passenger more afraid than the driver?
The person acting, whether she is a medic, a fighter pilot or a father responding to the baby's cry, takes responsibility for his actions and is able to function in the state of uncertainty. That is, she or he is an agent of the ability to function in uncertainty - we at the Detente workshop simply call it "agency".
The second regulating aspect is the modulating effect of a precise physical action. The modulating aspects of gross aerobic activity are well known. Aerobic activity allows the usage of anxiety and stress hormones, especially adrenaline and cortisol. We want to emphasize emotion regulation using fine motor skills.
Fine motor skills are not only an expression of agency, but a crucial part of the body-emotion-cognition interdependence that enables emotional regulation in emergency moments.
The pilot does not simply control the aircraft in combat, it does so through sequences of fine motor actions prepared in safer times and used both as means to control the jet plane and as a first-rate regulator.
Comments