The Hand Model of the Brain

Emotions
Written By Nicky Angelone

The Hand Model of the Brain offers a model of your brain in your hand!

And a way to understanding your reactions.

In my last blog, on The Choice Point, I shared how we make choices that move us toward or away from the person we want to be, each and every day; at these ‘Choice Points’.

This follow on blog shares a useful model to help understand why we make away moves and how we can equip ourselves to make more toward moves. I also hope you can see how this model offers more possibility of accessing and making good choices, in the midst of stress and overwhelm.

The Hand Model of the Brain is an accessible visual created by Dr Dan Siegel. Dan is a clinical professor of psychiatry and a pioneer in interpersonal neurobiology, revered by many of us working with the human experience.

This model helps explain why we sometimes lose control, and gives a powerful visual of what is needed to come back to our senses, to be able to respond rather than react.

Your Hand as a Model of your Brain

Hold up your hand and imagine:

  • Your wrist and palm are the brain stem, responsible for basic survival functions;  your "fight, flight, freeze" responses, that happen automatically. Reptilian Brain.

  • Tuck your thumb into the center of your palm, representing your limbic system; this is the emotional part of your brain where memories and emotional experiences are stored. Mammalian Brain.

  • Fold your fingers over your thumb, to become the prefrontal cortex; the part of your brain that is responsible for rational thinking, problem-solving, and making conscious decisions. Neomammalian Brain.

I encourage you to listen to the creator, Dan Siegel, explaining this here. He has a lovely sense of humour, and explains things very clearly.

When you are going about your day without any issues, your ‘hand brain’ is in the shape you formed above – fingers over your thumb. Your brain is integrated and able to access reason, to reflect before reacting, and to connect with others in a rational way. You could say that you’re anchored in your true nature, steady, wise, and self-aware.

What Happens When Stress, Fear, Anger, or Overwhelm arise?

Dan says you ‘Flip Your Lid’ meaning, your fingers (prefrontal cortex) straighten up, and are no longer connected to your emotional brain (thumb).

I refer to this as your prefrontal cortex going ‘offline’ – you lose access to logical thinking and reason. Concurrently, emotions and reactivity come to the fore, as they are not integrated. You might say or do things you’re not proud of, or aren’t representative of the person you want to be. This is where you lose your ability to pause and choose a helpful response.

This can happen to any of us; some of us more than others. While you can work on your triggers to reduce the amount of times you flip your lid, you can also work on reducing the time you spend in this state, and get your lid (prefrontal cortex) back online sooner; ideally momentarily.

In high-pressure environments, like corporate restructures, project meetings, parenting challenges, and personal struggles, you can flip your lid quickly, and automatically. Your brain stem (reptilian brain) has reacted to a perceived (real or imagined) threat.

You may not be able to change the pressure however you can reconnect your ‘lid’, and have access to logic, reason, and a broader range of options from which to act.

What helps to get your brain back online?

Knowledge:

Having this knowledge and insight about how your brain works can go a long way in understanding your reactions and appreciating you can do something to get your integrated brain back online.

Practices like Yoga, Breathing and Mindfulness help too

These practices offer ways to come back to the present moment, and foster your ability to pause between stimulus (and you possibly flipping your lid) and response (how you behave to the stimulus).

This isn’t about trying to control your emotions, it’s about building awareness of what is happening in your body (in particular your brain), and offering a choice rather than a rigid reaction from your emotional body. It’s the awareness of what’s going on – that’s the moment of coming back to the present moment, which allows you to return to your true self; the steady, wise presence within you, beneath the auto-pilot reaction.

Why this is relevant for High Achievers

If you're a high achiever, you may be used to ‘pushing through’ stress, expecting yourself to stay composed and capable at all times. But the truth is, no one can make good decisions from a flipped-lid state. Recognising when you’re dysregulated, and having tools to return to your best self, is not weakness. It’s actually wise, embodied leadership.

Your invitation to try this model out

The next time you feel emotionally hijacked, try holding up your hand and imagining this model. Take a few grounding breaths. Feel your feet. Pause. Then slowly,

Return each finger, mindfully and respectfully, to cover your thumb.

As you do this, with conscious ttention, you are being mindful, and through being in the present, you bring your ‘brain’ (your prefrontal cortex) back online, back into its integrated state.

From here you’re more able to access that ‘toward move’ or that ‘good choice’, the wise part of you, that knows what is most helpful.

Please remember this is a practice – it takes time, and repetition, when developing a new skill, for it to become more automatic and accessible at difficult times.

And as always, if you'd like support building these skills — in your work, relationships, or personal life — I’m here to help.

You can work with me through 1:1 counselling, coaching or mindfulness sessions. Together, we can strengthen your ability to access your integrated state and stay steady, self-aware, and clear on your best choices, even when life gets chaotic.

Nicky Angelone https://www.flourishmindfully.com.au
Next

The Choice Point: A Powerful Tool for Making Helpful Decisions at Difficult Times