#83 When Your Brain Stops Mid-Task...Do This Instead
Jun 11, 2025Ever walk into a room with purpose… big purpose….and then just stand there, blinking… wondering why you’re holding your coffee in one hand and your phone flashlight is on for no reason?
Yup, I’m with ya!!
This mindful practitioner was trying to respond to an email, schedule a doctor’s appointment, and figure out what to make for dinner at the same time, because clearly, I enjoy suffering.
Suddenly, I couldn’t remember what I was doing, but I needed my glasses and they were nowhere in sight, so my husband and I went on a househunt for the hundredth time, looking for them, even though I have a designated spot right there in the kitchen for where they belong.
Total brain freeze. But not the kind you get from ice cream. The kind you get from stress because you’ve overloaded your brain.
Turns out, when your nervous system senses pressure, overwhelm, or even a slightly-too-loud group text thread, it literally reroutes blood away from your thinking brain, your reasoning center, and sends it straight to your limbs. You know, in case you need to fight a bear. Or sprint out of the PTA meeting.
Smart design for cave life.
Not so helpful when you’re just trying to remember why you opened your laptop.
That’s why today, we’re talking about what to do when your brain pulls a disappearing act mid-task, and how you can get yourself back online with more ease and a lot less panic.
This Isn’t Failure. This Is Physiology.
You’re not lazy.
You’re not losing it.
You’re just in a body that’s doing what it was built to do…keep you alive.
But here’s the good news:
You can change your chemistry.
When you calm your nervous system, blood flow returns to your prefrontal cortex.
That’s when your clarity, creativity, and calm come back online.
This is where all my favorite healing modalities come into play. EFT tapping, breathwork, and mindfulness are not always quick fixes, they’re lifestyle supports.
Let’s Talk Tools That Bring the Brain Back
You’ve already got a rescue breath.
You’ve got your 5-4-3-2-1 reset.
Here are some next-level lifestyle tools to help your body stay out of survival mode before the shutdown happens. I’m going to break down my top 3 life-saving tools: EFT, mindfulness, and breathwork, the practices that have kept me from losing it more times than I can count, and carried me through everything from lesson plan meltdowns to the emotional weight of parenting, to life’s biggest curveballs.
1. EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
Tapping on meridian points while naming what you’re feeling calms the amygdala, reduces cortisol, and literally helps blood return to your PFC.
It’s like turning the volume down on your body’s alarm system. It’s the shut-off switch for your stress response for fight or flight.
Try it when you’re feeling overloaded by tapping the side of your hand: Even though I feel completely foggy and frozen, I accept how I feel and give myself permission to pause.
Repeat while tapping gently on 8–9 key points. (You can do this silently if you’re in public. No one will know.) You can download the tapping points guide by going to shiftforwellness.com/tappingpoints
2. Breathwork (Beyond the Rescue Breath)
Integrate breathwork before stress spikes. Try a rhythm like:
- Inhale for 5
- Exhale for 5
This equal-length breath regulates your vagus nerve and creates balance between your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, before a meltdown happens.
Do this for 2–5 minutes while walking, driving, or even folding laundry.
3. Mindfulness
Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean 30 minutes on a cushion.
It can look like:
- Washing your hands slowly and feeling the water
- Drinking your tea without multitasking
- Noticing 3 things that feel good in your body
These small shifts train your nervous system to stay regulated, which protects your thinking brain over time.
Why This Matters: Critical Thinking Needs Calm Chemistry
Want to make good decisions? Be present for your family? Handle pressure with grace?
Then your body needs to feel safe.
Because it’s not about trying harder; it’s about working with your physiology, not against it.
Creating a lifestyle that includes EFT, breathwork, and mindfulness means your body doesn’t have to flip the panic switch so often. And when it does, you recover faster.
This is nervous system literacy. This is leadership.
This is how we teach, parent, and live with presence, not pressure.
If you've got some stories to share or questions to ask, I'd love to hear them. Your insights and experiences might just be the spark that another parent needs to hear. Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram at @jenncaputo because when we lift each other up, we all grow wiser.
Remember, it's not about being perfect. It's about being easy with the practice.
