Dealing with Nervousness… Scientifically
If you have ever been nervous during a Model United Nations conference, the lead delegate has a message for you: you are being controlled! Every time you try to muster the courage to speak, a tiny region of your brain called the hypothalamus tells its minion the pituitary gland to bribe your body with hormonal chemicals. Your heart beats faster, you feel uncomfortable, and you lose the will to speak. This is why countless delegates decide to stay quiet even when they have thoroughly researched the topic at hand. Such a tragedy!
This does not mean you should stand up and tell the Chair of your committee “I’m going home because my Hypothalamus is making me nervous.” No! As a matter of fact, this information should embolden you! Why? Because with a few tricks and a bit of prior knowledge, neurochemicals can be managed.
The Evolutionary Roots of Nervousness
For early hunter-gatherers, it would have been a death sentence to live and work alone. Only in a group could humans survive and thrive. Cooperation with fellow hunters was key to getting fed. Now that we have moved past our hunter-gatherer beginnings, the same group dynamics permeate through our societies and through our brains. Those who are isolated and alone are punished, and those with strong friend networks and community ties are rewarded. The Hypothalamus and Pituitary gland are the brains behind the punishment/reward system, giving out positive hormones to the interconnected and negative hormones to the not-so interconnected. This is where nervousness comes in. Naturally, maintaining relationships with fellow hunter-gatherers requires that you do not humiliate yourself in front of them. Furthermore, saying things that a big-muscle hunter-gatherer dislikes might prevent you from getting out of the bronze age. The Hypothalamus recognizes when you have the potential to humiliate yourself or offend a powerful individual (our fear of offending the powerful is why we are more nervous in the presence of older people). Every time it recognizes these scenarios, it sends an impulse to the Pituitary gland ordering it to dispel nervousness-related neurochemicals. That, in a nutshell, is the evolutionary history of nervousness. Now that we understand how it came to be, the lead delegate shall show how to cope with it.
8 Simple Tricks for Outsmarting your Hypothalamus
- If you are hungry or thirsty, act!
A lack of nourishment has serious repercussions when it comes to public speaking. The Hypothalamus is the first to tell your Pituitary gland to send out negative neurochemicals when you are hungry or thirsty, so beware! If you are in session already and eating/drinking is disallowed, try sucking on a pebble. It’s an ancient trick Berbers used to satiate their thirst on long trips across the desert.
2. Press on your chest as you breath in and out
Ancient Hindus got it right: breathing is calming. Pressing on your chest helps you feel your heart-rate decrease as you lose your nervousness. If your heart-rate continues beating quickly, try another tip on this list.
3. Familiar Faces?
Remember that your Hypothalamus wants you to have a strong friend network and community. Even if just one of your peers is in your vicinity, recognizing and conversing/sending notes to them is greatly reassuring.
4. Think it Through
Will the Chair really laugh uproariously if you stumble on your words during a speech? Will your peers jeer and mock you when your clip-on tie comes off in the middle of a resolution proposal? The lead delegate thinks not! It is important to ask the question “is this scenario really rational?” when you envision catastrophe.
5. Musical Brain-Hacking
Do you remember listening to that (insert favorite song here) over and over again because it made you feel good? Our brains react positively to music we like, which is quite a compelling subject for psychologists and neurologists to mull over. Before the committee starts (no earbuds in session) play a beloved or inspiring song. Chances are, you will feel much better when it is time to get down to business.
6. Try and arrive early so you can acquaint yourself with “the locals”
Again, placate your Hypothalamus by forging connections. Dissolve your conceptions of malicious college titans by walking up and introducing yourself to a big delegate. After getting to know a few people at the committee, you will not feel as isolated and alone.
7. Move, do not become paralyzed with nervousness
Nervousness is like belly fat: the less you move, the more it grows. A few minutes of wallowing in anxiousness and fear might make you lose the will to speak. Move your limbs about. Swing your arms from side to side, kick your legs, and move your jaw up and down. Try other motions as well, such as clenching and unclenching a fist (not in the presence of another delegate, of course!). If you have some time before committee, walk around for a bit.
8. Get some sleep!
Remember how you weren’t very active in that seminar, the night before which you had only two hours of sleep? The lead delegate remembers, and the lead delegate recognizes the connection between our confidence and the amount of sleep we have. Get some sleep, have no free hotel coffee before bed. In the end, a healthy sleeper has a happy Hypothalamus.
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
The comments section is always open for those with questions. Furthermore, the lead delegate and the Enloe Model United Nations board are available most Thursdays for insight and discussion.
