Psychologist Daniel Stern once noted, "Mirror neurons ensure that the moment someone sees an emotion on your face they will at once sense that same feeling within themselves."
How is your emotional regulation? With the help of mirror neurons you have the power to affect the mood and behavior of your students, if you first regulate your own emotions.
Emotional regulation is not denying or getting rid of an emotion, but rather learning to accept the emotion, process it in a helpful way, and display it to others in a non-harmful manner. I always tell students "You can be angry, but you can't hurt anyone with your anger, that includes yourself."
Mirror neurons were first discovered in the late 1940's. They were studied in relation to associative learning. In 1949 Donald Hebb made the statement "cell that fire together, wire together." We can utilize the power of mirror neurons and our own emotional regulation to help our students wire their brains for positive, productive, and emotionally regulated brains.
In babies mirror neurons help infants understand the actions of others. As we grow and our brains develop mirror neurons help us process the emotions of others and begin to mimic them.
If we come into school with unregulated emotions we are setting up an environment of chaos and instability for our students. Our students brains unconsciously, using mirror neurons, look to us to learn actions and reactions.
Think back to the last unpleasant situation you encountered with a student. How did you handle yourself? Were you ensuring you were regulating your emotions? How did the student respond?
Studies have shown that strong mirror neurons aid us with empathy and emotions.
It is important to note that studies are beginning to show that a lack of normal mirror neurons is associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Those diagnosed with ASD more likely do not have strong mirror neurons or have mirror neurons that do not function normally. This is important for us to note when we are helping our ASD students. Our emotional regulation is extremely important during those times. Those with ASD will not automatically mirror our emotions, but they will read our regulation and learn patterns of behavior that they may attempt to mimic.
Mindfulness is a great tool to help us learn emotional regulation and teach it to our students. Taking time to pause, slow down, calm down, and process is an important practice.
We will all face stressful times. How well do you manage your own feelings? How do you display them to others?
Engage in a mindfulness practice today and every day.
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