(Originally published 05/03/20 for Oya Yoga Studio)
In the last year I discovered the work of Dr. Brene Brown. It feels odd to use her full name and title because in my head we are good friends. Her research is fascinating and the hours we’ve spent with her speaking directly to me (okay, fine – they were audio books) gave me more than a few insights on my path to know myself better.
My favorite new-to-me concept from Brene is that of overfunctioning and underfunctioning. The distinction was developed by psychologist Murray Bowen and to keep it simple both are stress/anxiety responses: over does too much, under does too little. I typically thought of anxiety responses as simply fight of flight (freeze and fawn being newer additions to the list) and did not give it much more space in my mind. If I was not running from the room or having some sort of argument, I assumed I was doing fine.
The reality is far more nuanced.
Continue reading “Overfunctioning, Underfunctioning, and the Search for Balance”