Picking The Panther’s Brain | The science of adjusting

Adjustment and change are at the forefront of everyone’s mind lately. “Unprecedented” was basically the word of 2020. But now, as the world is returning to an in-person environment, a lot of us expect things to go back to “normal.” However, what constitutes the “normal” we left behind no longer exists. 

That makes a lot of us uncomfortable. We’re starting to realize that our old habits no longer feel quite right anymore. That’s OK. Lots of people, I think, view the pandemic as a start and stop kind of thing — the world stopped in March 2020, and slowly started again in the spring and summer of 2021. A lot of people view this as a sort of “pick up where you left off” kind of situation, but the problem with that is, a year ago, we were completely different people living completely different lives. 

Picking up where we left off isn’t really an option. My entire daily routine, mentality concerning my work-life balance and standards of how I should be treated as a student, friend and employee all changed. I am no longer comfortable studying on the ground floor of the Hillman Library. I also don’t have it in me anymore to stay awake past 2 a.m. I eat less meat than I did before the pandemic started, and I value spending more time with my family. All of those things are OK, but we need to know how to adjust. 

Change is hard for the human brain. We are creatures of habit — our entire lives revolve around socially accepted behaviors. We wake up, eat breakfast and go to work, school or some other activity. During the day, we take a lunch break, and at the end of the day, we eat dinner, go home and fall asleep. For most people, our days are scheduled by these habits — even if we don’t participate in them. For example, we sleep at night so many businesses are closed at nighttime. We perceive these habits as “stable.” 

When our habitual actions are interrupted, they have to change, and our brains are prone to react negatively because it is a deviation from stability. Stability is what kept humans safe in ancient times — having a stable food and water source, place to live and social groups were essential to survival. When one of those things changed, it caused significant stress, as our prehistoric ancestors’ lives were put at risk. Their brains would then be in “fight or flight” mode, in which a person has to decide to fight against this change, or run from it. 

The pandemic isn’t a change we can run from. The virus is everywhere, and no matter where you go, it is still a threat. Fighting the change can only do so much. We have vaccines and masks, but there are some who still refuse them, and it also doesn’t change the fact that our lives will never be the same after the last year and a half. 

So we must adjust or — as it’s called in the world of evolutionary science — adapt. Adaptations are essential to survival in the natural world, and they are essential to us humans keeping our heads afloat when major changes come our way. 

Change is a lot to handle. But understanding our reactions to it, and then knowing how to adjust, make change not so scary. Neuroscientists researched the four main reactions to change and how to deal with them. 

The first reaction is denial. The insistence that change isn’t necessary is common, and here, communication and constant self-reassurance is key to making sure you can transition to the next stage as smoothly as possible, considering the next stage is anger. 

Anger is natural with any change. People do not like change. Find someone to vent to, because there’s going to be a lot of venting. After anger comes an exploration of solutions and, finally, acceptance. 

Accepting a lack of control, adopting a flexible pattern of behavior, framing yourself within a growth mindset and lots of self-care can help you deal with change. No matter what kind of adjusting you have to do, having people to lean on always helps.