George Monbiot makes a telling link between individuals’ affective state and the unwitting support we lend to demagogues (Journal, 3 October). Seeking to offer a path forward that will break this spiral, Monbiot rightly calls for us to restore the mental state that allows us to think. In the language of Stephen Porges’s polyvagal theory, such a restoration entails moving from a state of dysregulation to one of regulation. This kind of self-care promotes regulation, and in so doing facilitates cortical (higher-level) brain function and the associated abstract, creative cognitive capacities that are needed for us to find a way forward in these beleaguered times. Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition

Source: The Guardian October 06, 2019 16:30 UTC