{"id":8141,"date":"2026-05-05T19:25:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=8141"},"modified":"2026-05-05T19:25:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:25:40","slug":"a-simple-neuroscience-brain-trick-to-stay-quiet-instead-of-saying-impulsive-things-youll-regret-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=8141","title":{"rendered":"A simple neuroscience brain trick to stay quiet instead of saying impulsive things you\u2019ll regret"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Calm body, closed mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are times to speak up, moments when it\u2019s best to say nothing<\/a>, and opportunities be very considerate in your response. But when you\u2019re on the receiving end of a back-handed compliment<\/a>, a foolish remark, or a coworker takes you down a peg, and your emotions <\/a>are up, it can be hard to have a thoughtful response<\/a>. Often, we say something we shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is it that some folks fly off the handle and say things they\u2019ll later regret, while others can stay calm and remove themselves from the situation or take the high ground? One way to be less impulsive with your words<\/a> is to use the \u201cname it to tame it\u201d neuroscience hack, originally coined by author and psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel<\/a>. When used properly, it allows you to step back from the moment and choose the best response in a challenging situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"shhh,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to use the \u2018name it to tame it\u2019 hack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When someone upsets you, the first thing to do is to go inside yourself and describe the emotion that you feel in your body. Are you angry? Are you sad? Are you afraid? Do you feel rejected? Are you disappointed? The moment you name the emotion, it will begin to subside and give you the emotional and mental room to respond to the person who caused the negative emotion, rather than impulsively reacting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to respond to a reactive emotion so you don\u2019t fly off the handle:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Event happens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Your body stiffens up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You feel an intense emotion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You examine the emotion and give it a name: \u201cMy body is telling me I am angry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You should feel the emotion beginning to subside<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Choose your response instead of being impulsive<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"shhh,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why does \u2018name it to tame it\u2019 work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cName it to tame it\u201d works because<\/u><\/a>, when we have a strong emotional reaction, our lizard brain kicks in, and we go into fight, flight, or freeze mode. The lizard brain is not known for giving thoughtful and strategic responses to challenging situations. When we name the emotion, our prefrontal cortex, or the thinking brain, kicks in. The thinking brain looks at the situation and says, \u201cAlright, we don\u2019t need to run or fight here. It\u2019s best to give a strategic response.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we tune into the negative emotions by naming them, they relax because they feel heard, like when a child has hurt their knee or a loved one has real concern and you gives them undivided attention. Once the emotions are named, they are tamed. Then, you are more likely to respond to the negative person with grace and speak from the best part of yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Dan Siegel, who coined the phrase \u201cName it to tame it,\u201d explains the brain science behind the technique in the video below. He does a great job of explaining how it allows us to transfer our thoughts from the downstairs brain (the lizard brain) to the upstairs brain (the thinking brain), so we can calm down and respond appropriately to the situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calm body, closed mouth. There are times to speak up, moments when it\u2019s best to say nothing, and opportunities be very considerate in your response. But<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/690389203_1447883477372639_1449319453130921054_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8141"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8143,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8141\/revisions\/8143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}