Why We Always Think of The Best Thing To Say *After* The Argument

I can easily pick up on the undercurrent of a person's "vibe" and get lots of insight into personality and dynamics. I can poke holes in any argument. And, during a debate, I can come up with amazingly clever comebacks.

After the fact.

Yep. I'm a delayed processor.  That means when things get tense, I think about and understand things much later than is appropriate. Well, on second thought... seeing as how I don't have much of a filter, I guess it's actually a good thing.  Imagine all of the trouble I could have gotten into if I was mentally nimble!

But then there's the WHY. I know I'm not the only one who does this and I"m not the only one who wonders why this happens. Why does arguing make us "dumb"? (Even if only temporarily...)

I think it's due to our default stress response- that fight, flight, freeze, fawn (and whatever other f-word they are going to come up with to describe our sympathetic nervous system's response to a perceived threat).  

The flood of cortisol (the stress hormone) can shut down our thinking
 and make us feel (and look?!) dumb- right when we need to feel and look amazing, of course,  After the stress is gone and the hormone levels have stabilized, our clear thinking returns.

I suspect it's an Introvert thing- that 'freeze' default. I know many extroverted people who who can really think (and retort) on their feet.  So, I guess I'll just let my cortisol fuel my writing (and closed mouth) until the famous "they" discover a method to make my brain work under fire.

Be wild and witty, my friends- M

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Photo credit: pixabay (duh, isn't it always?)
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