Go Suck a Lemon: Strategies for Improving Your Emotional Intelligence

by Michael Cornwall

You feel yourself beginning to shake (adrenaline and norepinephrine are entering our bloodstream and circulating through our viscera. Your heart is responding). Your voice rises. “I already told you I wanted to make an appointment to see the doctor,” you hear yourself saying. (Sustaining the thoughts that prompted the stress response continues to pump more and more adrenaline and norepinephrine through your body.) You hear, “No need to get angry. Name?” The hair on the back of our neck seems to stand on end. (This is Nature’s way of preparing us to cool our skin as we progress toward our ultimate decision to fight or flee.) You say, “My name? I already gave you my name! Fifteen minutes ago, I gave you my name!” You hear, “Ma’am, you will have to give us your name again, if you want to receive help.” You feel your whole body shaking (adrenaline with nowhere to go) as you slam the phone into its holder. For a few minutes you cannot think clearly or stop shaking. (Nature doesn’t give the human organism the freedom to think rationally when the body believes it is being attacked by a wild animal.)