Dan Siegel used a version of this image to illustrate mental health. He explains that when we are stuck on either side of the river, or flip between the two we may be given labels of mental illness. Susan Tiihonen redrew it to help reveal that all of us—whatever race, class, gender, or ability—can get caught in overwhelm or chaos, or equally easily on the other side: in rigidity and control.

The image helps us see there is no big divide between those of us with labels and those without – it’s more of a continuum of whether we can find our way back into the flow without too much delay. In the current in the river we must accept we have some control, but not total control. When we understand a little about how our brains work to help us survive and learn, we can move more quickly out of shame. We can stop feeling bad, stupid, wrong—like we don’t belong—and become more creative about what will help each one of us return to the flow and learn what we hope to learn.

Do you notice your own patterns? Do you help your students become aware of their patterns? Do they learn how these patterns, or habits, help survival, and how they can get in the way of learning what we choose when we choose. Do you teach students how our brains work? How do you help those you support to explore what works for them to calm old patterns and return to learning? 

(Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (2012) The Whole Brain Child. New York: Little, Brown Book Group)

Illustration Credit: Susan Tiihonen