ABSTRACT
I first mentioned boundaries in Element 5 while describing intolerance as an Expressed Behavior. But I alluded to boundaries as early as Element 1 when discussing anxiety — the harmful consequence of unclear deadlines and priorities — in the story about Sam, my “go to” guy. In Sam's case poor leadership in terms of establishing boundaries caused him to become overwhelmed and led to a chronic stress disorder. For Sam the stress was extreme, and caused a breakdown, but much lower levels of stress can adversely affect parts of the brain that control memory and decision-making. For example, and as mentioned in Element 5, the amygdala is constantly scanning for threats. When a threat is perceived it will trigger the release of cortisol, which diverts energy from the prefrontal cortex, where we do most of our conscious thinking, to the limbic system where emotion is triggered to survive immediate threats. Behavioral responses can be subtle or extreme like “awfulizing” and “hijacking”.
