Recovery time
Χρόνος επαναφοράς
How long a reaction takes to rise and, more usefully, how long it takes to come back down. It differs from person to person and it can be measured, which is what makes it something to work on. It is used here as a plain description of timing, in its everyday sense, and not as any judgement about a person.
How to spot it
The next time you are put on the spot, do not ask whether you reacted. Time how long it took until your voice sounded like your own again.
The research behind the term
The term is not our invention. It comes from published research, and what follows is what that research found — our own synthesis of the published abstract, not a translation of the original.
Davidson, R. J., Jackson, D. C., & Kalin, N. H. (2000). Emotion, Plasticity, Context, and Regulation — doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.6.890
What it found
- Two broad emotional systems, approach and withdrawal, rest mainly on the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.
- The time an emotional response takes to arise and to subside is a measurable dimension of an individual's affective style.
- The circuits of emotion show plasticity: experience alters structures such as the hippocampus, with consequences for psychopathology and stress-related symptoms.
How it found it
Review of the neuroscientific literature on the neural basis of emotion, with proposals formulated for the role of the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus.
What it means for stress management
Because the circuits of emotion are plastic, systematic practice really can change the way you react to stress — this is not a fixed temperament.
Practised in
The term does not stay a definition. It appears inside missions where the pattern happens in real time and you have to recognise it as it happens to you.
Ten Minutes Before
Sources
Every claim on this page maps to published research. The citations link to the original source.
- Davidson, R. J., Jackson, D. C., & Kalin, N. H. (2000). Emotion, Plasticity, Context, and Regulation — doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.6.890