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Survival Under Fire: How to Stay Whole During A...

Arthur Doler
January 11, 2024

Survival Under Fire: How to Stay Whole During Adversity

Each of the last few years have hit like a brick to the temple. It felt like the entire world was upended. There’s been radical shifts in the way we work, endless video conference calls, social and political unrest, and lots of tough choices about our health and the health of those we love and care about. In short, it’s been a complete trainwreck of psychological trauma, with no clear signs of when normality will ever return. In times like this, it might feel like there’s nothing you can do but hold on for dear life.

But there *are* things you can do. You can start to understand what happened to your brain during this time. You can figure out how your brain handles traumatic events like this, learn how to recover as things slowly start to get better, and you can begin to prepare yourself for future crises. Take the time to make your brain your ally, and you won’t be fighting it during the next crisis that comes along.

Arthur Doler

January 11, 2024
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  1. @arthurdoler Arthur Doler Resources: Boring details about me are at

    https://arthurdoler.com @arthurdoler Arthur Doler Resources: Boring details about me are at https://arthurdoler.com https://bit.ly/survival-under-fire
  2. @arthurdoler Your brain and you The Walled Garden & the

    Dark Forest Your brain on fire Surviving being on fire Preparing for the next fire that comes along A roadmap for the next hour
  3. @arthurdoler WHEN YOU GET INDIGESTION, YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU

    FAILED “O my own stomach, why dost thou attack me?”
  4. @arthurdoler YOU DON’T FEEL BROKEN WHEN SOMEONE ELSE GETS INDIGESTION

    AND YOU DON’T Unless you really like the flavor of antacids, I guess?
  5. @arthurdoler THIS IDEA IS CALLED THE EXTENDED MIND The Extended

    Mind, Annie Murphy Paul – also Daniel Dennett and Andy Clark
  6. @arthurdoler WE SEEK COMFORT WHEREVER WE CAN GET IT, WHEREVER

    WE’VE GOTTEN IT IN THE PAST Even in some not-so-nice places
  7. @arthurdoler YOUR BRAIN IS NOT DESIGNED TO RUN AT 100%

    FOR WEEKS… OR MONTHS… OR YEARS. However much we might wish that were the case
  8. @arthurdoler EVENTUALLY WE ENCOUNTER: A lack of forward progress Emotional

    problems Physical health problems Diagnosable mental problems As the indigestion spills out into the rest of our existence
  9. @arthurdoler SEEK CONTROL IN LIMITED, REASONABLE FASHION, EVEN IF IT’S

    NOT “USEFUL” Key word here is “reasonable”
  10. @arthurdoler WHAT CAN YOU SOLVE BEFOREHAND, SO YOU DON’T NEED

    TO THINK ABOUT IT? Think of it like spinning up other instances