This recent series of posts has used the example of Stephen Colbert\u2019s satirical \u201cMarch to Keep Fear Alive<\/a>\u201d as a timely illustration of a larger point: humans evolved to be fearful \u2014 a major feature of the brain\u2019s negativity bias that helped our ancestors pass on their genes. Consequently, as much research has shown, we\u2019re usually much more affected by negative \u2014 by which I mean painful \u2014 experiences than by positive ones.<\/p>\n Besides the personal impacts of this bias in the brain, it also makes people, and nations, vulnerable to being manipulated by threats, both real ones and \u201cpaper tigers.\u201d Colbert is mocking those who play on fear, since we surely don\u2019t need more efforts to keep fear alive.<\/p>\n Your Brain on Negative<\/strong> But is there really any shortage of suffering in this world? Look at the faces of others, or your own, in the mirror, and see the marks of weariness, irritation, stress, disappointment, longing and worry. There\u2019s plenty of challenge in life already \u2014 including unavoidable illness, loss of loved ones, old age and death \u2014 without needing a bias in your brain to give you an extra dose of pain each day.<\/p>\n Yet as my last post<\/a> explored, your brain evolved exactly such a \u201cnegativity bias\u201d in order to help your ancestors pass on their genes \u2014 a bias that produces lots of collateral damage today.<\/p>\n The Price of Pain<\/strong> Consider the famous saying: \u201cNeurons that fire together, wire together.\u201d This means that repeated painful experiences \u2014 even mild ones \u2014 tend to:<\/p>\n In a couple, upsetting experiences foster mistrust, heightened sensitivity to relatively small issues, distance and vicious cycles. At much larger scales \u2014 between groups or nations \u2014 they do much the same.<\/p>\n So don\u2019t take painful experiences lightly, neither the ones you get nor, honestly, the ones you give. Prevent them when you can, and help them pass through when you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n Tilting Positive<\/strong> For starters, take a stand for yourself, for feeling as good as you reasonably can. A stand for bearing painful experiences when they walk through the door \u2014 and a stand for encouraging them to keep on walking, all the way out of your mind.<\/p>\n This is not being at war with discomfort or distress, which would just add negativity, like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Instead, it is being kind to yourself, wise and realistic about the toxic effects of painful experiences.<\/p>\n In effect, you\u2019re simply saying to yourself something you\u2019d say to a dear friend in pain: I want you to feel better, and I\u2019m going to help you<\/em>. Try saying that to yourself in your mind right now. How does it feel?<\/p>\n When emotional pain does come, even softly, try to hold it in a large space of awareness. In a traditional metaphor, imagine stirring a big spoon of salt into a cup of water and then drinking it: yuck. But then imagine stirring that spoonful into a clean bucket of water and then drinking a cup: it\u2019s the same amount of salt \u2014 the same amount of worry or frustration, feeling inadequate or blue \u2014 but held in a larger context. Notice that awareness is without any edges, boundless like the sky, with thoughts and feelings passing through.<\/p>\n In your mind, watch out for how negative information, events or experiences can seem to overpower positive ones. For example, researchers have found that people typically will work harder or put up with more crud to avoid losing something than to gain the same thing. And they feel more contaminated by one fault than they feel cleansed or elevated by several virtues. Try to switch this around; for instance, pick some of your good qualities and keep seeing how they show up in your life this week.<\/p>\n Be careful whenever you feel stymied, frustrated or disappointed. As Martin Seligman and others have shown, humans (and other mammals) are very vulnerable to what\u2019s called \u201clearned helplessness\u201d \u2014 developing a sense of futility, immobilization and passivity. Focus on where you can make a difference, where you do have power; it may only be inside your own mind, but that\u2019s better than nothing at all.<\/p>\n In your relationships, be mindful of reacting more strongly to one negative event than to a bunch of positive ones. For example, studies have shown that it typically takes several positive interactions to make up for a single negative encounter. Pick an important relationship, and then really pay attention to what\u2019s working in it; let yourself feel good about these things. Deal with the problems in this relationship, sure, but keep them in perspective.<\/p>\n Overall, whenever you remember, deliberately tilt toward the positive in your mind. That\u2019s not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Given the negativity bias in the brain, you\u2019re only leveling the playing field.<\/p>\n My next post will tackle a key consequence of the negativity bias: threat reactivity, which has many bad effects, including \u201cpaper tiger paranoia.\u201d Following posts will explore more ways to address the negativity bias, from activating the soothing and recharging parasympathetic nervous system to mobilizing more of your inner resources to address the real challenges our planet faces.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Rick Hanson, Ph.D.<\/strong>, is a neuropsychologist and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom<\/a>. His work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and Huffington Post, and he is the author of the best-selling Buddha\u2019s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom<\/em><\/a>. He writes a weekly newsletter \u2013 Just One Thing \u2013 that suggests a simple practice each week that will bring you more joy, more fulfilling relationships, and more peace of mind and heart. If you wish, you can subscribe to Just One Thing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This recent series of posts has used the example of Stephen Colbert\u2019s satirical \u201cMarch to Keep Fear Alive\u201d as a timely illustration of a larger point: humans evolved to be fearful \u2014 a major feature of the brain\u2019s negativity bias that helped our ancestors pass on their genes. Consequently, as much research has shown, we\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[32,33,34,40,51,91,186,187,227],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brain","tag-brain-function","tag-brain-science","tag-buddhas-brain","tag-cognitive-neuropsychology","tag-fear","tag-neuropsychology","tag-neuroscience","tag-rick-hanson"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nPainful experiences range from subtle discomfort to extreme anguish \u2014 and there is a place for them. Sorrow can open the heart, anger can highlight injustices, fear can alert you to real threats, and remorse can help you take the high road next time.<\/p>\n
\nPainful experiences are more than passing discomforts. They produce lasting harms to your physical and mental health. When you\u2019re feeling frazzled, pressured, down, hard on yourself or simply frustrated, that:<\/p>\n\n
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\nReducing negative experiences entails taking action in three domains: in the world (including your relationships), in your body and in your mind. All are important. In this brief post, I\u2019m focusing on some things you can do in your mind \u2014 and those things are just a small fraction of all the resources available in the self help section of any bookstore.<\/p>\n