It’s well known that our hardy yet fragile bodies are slightly misaligned with the world we’ve created. To begin with, a style of consumption outstrips a desire and capacity to protect one of the most basic needs of all, with our planet. Yet, in truth, we’re boxing shadows as intuitive drives and internal conflicts complicate matters across the board. So, we destroy what we need while creating wastage with tonnes of plastic to kill marine life: an oxymoron increasingly tragic, in its truth. No; it doesn’t make sense to behave in this way, when a one-way ticket’s at stake.

So, why do it?

Well, what looks simple seems anything but, as we default into negative thinking and self-sabotage: the polar opposites of optimism and good choices. In fact, it’s often said that negativity bias gave us an evolutionary advantage where assuming the worst was a headstart and that makes sense, in a world full of risk and unpredictability. As always, though, there are contrasts when it comes to research and different studies have found pleasant and unpleasant factors drawing stronger reactions, when it comes to bias.

Still, when it comes to mental health, negativity is built into the software, so to speak, as one disorder after another seems fuelled by our tendency to settle on the unfavourable. Perhaps, that leans into an obsession with negative gossip and bullying in all formats and a fascination with violence, too. Similarly, and as we’re all aware by now, the internet is fertile ground for negativity bias which has indexed a lot of thinking. It seems inescapable and where our defences claim to look out for us, the overall impact on our mental well-being is undoubtedly cause for concern.

‘You fight, you try your best, but if you lose, you don’t have to break five racquets and smash up the locker room. You can do those things, but when you’ve finished, nothing’s changed. You’ve still lost. If something positive came from that, I probably would do it, but I only see negativity.’

Rafael Nadal      

So, in trying to combat negativity bias, we come to positive thinking which eludes us all at the drop of a hat while threatening choices we’re about to make and all in the name of protection. Then, for many, the perception between not just positive and negative outcomes but also their reasoning, lies in the essential timeframe between action and feedback. This is called ‘Action Binding’, and it may help to explain delusional thinking that, in turn, gets pushed as an explanation for positive thinking.

For today’s TikTok generation, for example, the word delusional has become ‘delulu’, a byword for ‘fake it until you make it’ or denial-lite and naturally, it’s swept the globe. Next to that, ‘delusionship’ has redefined the meaning of an infatuation or unrequited something with both representing a refusal or fear of negativity bias. It’s easy to see how they hinder and help at the same time because if erroneous self-belief gets you to a place where the real thing kicks in, that’s actually beneficial. On the other hand, if the fog of belief stops you from thinking healthily for yourself and others, it’s clearly a problem.

‘If you ask TikTok, “delulu is the solulu” to make one’s dreams some true. The idea is to set unrealistic expectations for yourself and earnestly believe you will achieve them. This applies to your career, relationships, mental well-being – anything can make you delulu if you want it badly enough. It’s an attractive, if erratic, premise, which might be why the hashtag has been viewed over 4.3bn times on the app.’

Alaina Demopoulos, The Guardian newspaper, 2023

It’s a panacea but then what about actual positive thinking? Again, divided into two camps, it’s either an illusion or the re-evaluation of an attitude. A decision to pursue a healthier path in life: meaning there’s nothing illusory about it, if it’s really what you want. Only time will tell, of course, if your sincerity actually matters but choosing to activate chemicals in the brain that may alter the course of a life tells it’s own story, and the key is surely, neuroplasticity. To be precise, ‘Experience-dependent Neuroplasticity’ does exactly what is says as the process through which our neurons are shaped, by repetition.

This recurring function is what allows the basic unit of the brain – the billions of neuronal cells, to grow, connect and disconnect with each other over a lifetime. With information sent electrochemically across gaps or synapses between a neuron’s extending branch or axon to the receiving branches or dendrites of another neuron, the fact is: ‘cells that fire together, wire together.’ It’s Hebbian Theory, first proposed by Donald Hebb, a pioneering 20^th Century neuropsychologist, and it’s arguably the best news for mental health in many respects.

Firstly, with repetition increasing the signal strength between neurons in close proximity, it means we carry degrees of control over change. Think about this because if the surface simplicity of this complex structure allows us to exercise agency by initiating one thing or thought over another, we can more or less direct the way we think. Obviously, if it was that easy there’d be no need for mental-health analysis and or intervention and, in fact, the process of Hebbian Theory may be what gets us into trouble in the first place: in terms of elevated or lowered firing rates.

‘Neuroscience is a baby science, a mere century old, and our scientific understanding of the brain is nowhere near where we’d like it to be. We know more about the moons of Jupiter than what is inside of our skulls.’

Matt Haig

Meanwhile, another way of saying it, is: ‘practise makes perfect’, which makes it logical to link Hebbian learning with rumination or self-recrimination or where we obsess about something or someone, in reinforcing the opposite of what we need.

In contrast, practising positivity or positive thinking can strengthen a healthier approach to life. Clearly, it might not change your circumstances, at all, but it may help you to process the situation differently and in a way that helps you to move forward, once things have changed. During World War II, for example, Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, spent time in a concentration camp and observed different coping methods between fellow prisoners. After the war, It led him to finalise a psychoanalytic theory begun in 1938, called: Logotherapy. It states that a person’s main drive in life is the search for meaning and its three main principles are: Freedom of will (the agency of thought); Will to meaning (the search for meaning) and meaning of life (the acceptance of responsibility). Essentially, he saw how those who framed their daily struggle in less catastrophic terms, fared better than those who didn’t and his bestselling book: Man’s Search for Meaning, is a must read.

‘Previous studies have shown that optimism can be altered with relatively uncomplicated and low-cost interventions – even something as simple as having people write down and think about the best possibe outcome for various areas of their lives, such as careers or friendships,’ said postdoctoral research fellow Kaitlin Hagan, Co-lead author of the study. ‘Encouraging use of these interventions could be an innovative way to enhance health in the future.’

Study looks at mechanics of optimism in reducing risk of dying prematurely,

Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health

Obviously, it’s a tall ask in some situations but where many of us aren’t facing unimaginable problems, we can apply the principle to our lives in one way or another.

The human condition is a series of contradictions and adjustments in an epoch imbalance of modernity and ancient fears. So, a positive-negative polarity of the mind plays out between that interminably distant conflict, leaving us to choose for ourselves where we can.    

Copyright © 2024 | recoveryourwellbeing.com | All Rights Reserved

Images:

Night Clock, by Virvoreanu-Laurentiu, Pixabay – Main Image
Many Faces, by Cottonbro, Pexels
Lightbox, by RDNE, Pexels

References:

van Vugt, M, et al, ‘The Evolutionary Mismatch Hypothesis: Implications for Applied Social Psychology’, In J P. Forgas, et al, (Eds) Application of Social Psychology: How Social Psychology Can Contribute to the Solution of Real-world Problems (pp. 40-57), accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-10531-003

Rozan, P, & Royzman, E.B, ‘Negativity Bias, negativity Dominance and Contagion’, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2001, 5(4), 296-320, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-09004-002

Norris, C.J, ‘The Negativity Bias, Revisited: Evidence From Neuroscience Measures and an Individual Differences Approach’, Social Neuroscience, 16(1), 68-82, 12^th December 2019, Notes, Para 3, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17470919.2019.1696225

Grant, S. S, et al, ‘Negative Memory Biases in Health and Psychiatric Disorders’, In T. Aue & H. Okon-Singer (Eds), Cognitive Biases in Health and Psychiatric Disorders: Neurological Foundations (pp. 173-191). Elsevier Academic Press, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17470919.2019.1696225

Sophia Gottfried, ‘The Science Behind Why People Gossip – And When It Can Be A Good Thing’, Time Magazine, 25^th September 2019, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://time.com/5680457/why-do-people-gossip/

Volk, A. A, et al, ‘Is Adolescent Bullying an Evolutionary Adptation? A 10-Year Review’, Educ Psychol rev 34, 2351-2378, 2022, Abstract, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31750790/

Liddle, J. R, et al, ‘Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? Evolutionary Perspectives on Violence, Homicide and War’, Review of General Psychology, 16(1), 24-36, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/a0026610?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.8

Robertson, C. E, et al, ‘Negativity Drives Online News Consumption’, Nat Hum Bahv 7, 812-822, 2023, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4#citeas

Quote – Rafael Nadal, ‘You fight, you try your best…’ Brainy Quote, 2024, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/rafael_nadal_557529?src=t_negativity

Cao, L, et al, ‘Delusional Thinking and Action Binding in Healthy Individuals’, Sci rep 11, 18932, 2021, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97977-y#citeas

Carlos MegÍa, ‘What Is ‘delulu’ philosophy, and Why Has It Become a Trendy Concept Among Generation Z?’ El Pais, 30^th November 2023, accessed 23^rd November 2024,  https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2023-11-30/what-is-delulu-philosophy-and-why-has-it-become-a-trendy-concept-among-generation-z.html

‘Delusionship’, Urban Dictionary, 7^th March 2023, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=delusionship

Alaina Demopoulos, ‘Going ‘delulu’: Being Delusional Is The New Manifesting’, The Guardian newspaper, 8^th November 2023, Para 3, accessed 23^rd November 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/08/delulu-tiktok-trend-manifesting-self-belief

Glasper, E. R, & Neigh, G. N, ‘Editorial: Experience-dependent neuroplasticity Across The Lfespan: From Risk to Resilience’, frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience, 12, Article 335, 2019, accessed 24^th November 2024,  https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-06052-001

Diniz, CRAF & Crestani, A.P, ‘The Times They Are A-changin’: A Proposal On How Brain Flexibility Goes Beyond The Obvious To Include The Concepts of “Upward” and “ Downward” to Neuroplasticity’, Mol Psychiatry 28, 977-992, 2023, Abstract, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01931-x#citeas

Synapses – ‘2-Minute Neuroscience: The Neuron’, Youtube, Neuroscientifically Challenged, 22^nd July 2014, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qS83wD29PY&t=58s

Axons – ‘2-Minute Neuroscience: The Neuron’, Youtube, Neuroscientifically Challenged, 22^nd July 2014, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qS83wD29PY&t=58s

Dendrites – ‘2-Minute Neuroscience: The Neuron’, Youtube, Neuroscientifically Challenged, 22^nd July 2014, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qS83wD29PY&t=58s

Dong Il Choi & Bong-Kiun Kaang, ‘Interrogating Structural Plasticity Among Synaptic Engrams’, Science Direct, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2022, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/hebbian-theory#:~:text=In%201949%2C%20Donald%20Hebb%20proposed,activated%20together%20during%20memory%20recall.

‘Donal O Hebb’, Bio, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, 2024, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.cdnmedhall.ca/laureates/donaldhebb

Widrow, B, ‘Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s Disease’, 2023, In: Cybernetics 2.0. Springer Series on Bio- and Neurosystems, Vol 14, Springer, Cham, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-98140-2_10#citeas

Matt Haig Quote – ‘Neuroscience is a baby science…’, Brainy Quote, 2024, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/matt_haig_774747?src=t_neuroscience

Viktor Frankl, Bio, ‘The Life of Viktor E. Frankl’, The Viktor Frankl Institute of America, 2024, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://viktorfranklamerica.com/viktor-frankl-bio/

‘What Is Logotherapy?’ The Viktor Frankl Institute of America, 2024, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://viktorfranklamerica.com/what-is-logotherapy/

Viktor Frankl, Man´s Search for Meaning (London, Rider Publisher, 2004) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mans-Search-Meaning-classic-Holocaust/dp/1844132390

Karen Feldscher, ‘Study looks at mechanics of optimism in reducing risk of dying prematurely’, The Harvard Gazette, Harvard Chan School Communications, 7^th December 2016, accessed 24^th November 2024, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/12/optistic-women-live-longer-are-healthier/