Hello, hello, welcome to Radio Headspace and Happy Friday Eve.

It's Dora here.

So I want to start this episode by asking, when was the last time you received feedback?

And how do you typically respond to receiving feedback?

For myself, I've been doing a mindfulness teacher training, and an expectation for us

as students is to provide each other with feedback.

Feedback on our guidance as meditation teachers, on our presentations, and how we're able to

effectively engage and interact with participants when they share their experience.

Now I teach mindfulness for a living, so you would think receiving feedback on something

I do all the time would be a breeze.

But actually, the first time it was my turn to receive constructive criticism, I felt

this familiar pit of anxiety in my stomach, so it made me think about a few things.

One, what happens in our brains and bodies that can make receiving feedback so dreadful?

And two, how can we learn to be more open to this feeling?

In my search for answers, I realize that our bodies can't discern when we're facing

a threat or a reward.

It's perceived the same way we feel sadness, anger, jealousy, time and time again, our

fight or flight response is activated.

So this is what happens when we receive feedback or a critique.

Our amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions, is hijacked, and we shut down

in order to avoid the threat.

So before doing our practicum, we also had to participate in a teacher training intensive.

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