Attracting Abundance
The Law
Two Doors to Success
Happiness - IX
"Thousands of candles can be lighted
from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared"
... Buddha
Happiness - IX
"Thousands of candles can be lighted
from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared"
... Buddha
Resilience is an area which is drawing lot of neuro-scientific attention. Resilience has different connotations with a common underlying theme of " maintenance of high level of well being in the face of adversity". One key way of sustaining resilience is the ability to recover from negative events. there re large individual differences in the rate at which individuals recover from negative events. Measures of recovery from negative events can be obtained using peripheral psycho-physiological measures. ( Jackson et al, 2003, Psychological Science, 14(6), 612 - 7,, Schaefer et al, 2013, Plos One, 8(11), e80329) or can be assessed with direct measures of brain function (Schuyler et al, 2012, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscince). Where the actual time course of responding in specific neural circuits can be assessed in both cases, the key time window for measuring recovery is the period after a negative emotional stimulus ceases to be present. Prolonged or slow recovery would be reflected in greater signal in the period that follows the end of a negative emotional stimulus reflecting a continuation of the emotional response when it ceases to be relevant. A key constituent of well being is fast recovery following a negative stimulus. The time course of responding in the amygdala represents a central node through which peripheral signs of recovery are modulated. The rationale for considering the amygdala a central node for resilience is the extensive literature implicating this structure in fear and anxiety. (LeDoux, 2014, Proceeding of national Academy of Sciences, (19), 1-8). Faster recovery of amygdala would therefore mean more adaptive coping with adversity, since the changes in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system associated with fear and anxiety would be diminished more quickly if the amygdala exhibited a faster time course of decreased activation following exposure to a negative event. From these studies we can draw a very important conclusion. Happiness and remaining positive is not about not feeling bad when bad things happen. Happiness and positivity is not about putting your head in sand when bad things happen around you. Happiness and positivity is about not wallowing in the negative things, about not permitting the negative things to put you in a continuous downward spiral. It is about putting a brake on the downward spiral as quickly as you can and standing up to take on what life throws at you. It is about not getting entrapped in the "what-if" mode and take on things as they come.
In a study carried out on a sample population (Schuyler et al, 2012, Social Cognitive and Affective neuroscience) it was found that the individual differences in neuroticism (one of the key attributes of negative trait inversely proportional to well-being) was predicted by greater amygdala signal during the recovery period, but not during the reactivity period.
(Note: Neuroticism is a long term tendency to stay in a negative frame of mind. People with neuroticism are prone to frequent bouts of depression. They also display behaviors like anger, guilt, anxiety and envy on a high severity scale).
This implies that a person's initial reaction to a negative event, either large or small, has little effect on that person's trait levels of neuroticism. The process that results in less neuroticism is how well the person recovers once the negative stimulus is no longer relevant. It has also been found that individuals who are motivated by a purpose in life exhibit the most robust recovery following negative events.
Resilience is not genetically driven. It is true that some individuals are born and coached in early life with strong resilience tendencies. But the greater truth is that those who are low on resilience will continue to be mired in depression. Resilience is a learnable skill. Happy persons are more resilient and the resilient persons are more happy. Happiness and resilience play and grow on one another.
One of the strongest predictors of well being is the quality of an individual's social relationships. (Diener et al, 2002, Psychological Science, 13(1), 81 - 4). In fact when individuals are made to experience social isolation many of the same brain regions become active that are active in the experience of physical pain. (Eisenberger, 2012, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(6), 421 - 34). Behaviors that increase social bonds (altruism and pro -social behavior) reliably increases well being in children and adults. (Aknin et al, 2012, Plos ONE, 7(6), e39211,, Dunn et al, 2008, Science, 319 (5870), 1687 - 88,, Hofmann et al, Science, 345(6202), 1340 - 43) and appears to be consistent across cultures. Pro-social behavior if often linked with better health (Borgonovei et al, 2008, Social Science and Medicine, 60(11), 2321 - 34,, Brown et al, 2005, The Journal of Gerontology series B, 60(3), 143 - 52) and longer life expectancy (Brown et al, 2003, Psychological Science, 14(4), 320 - 27). These improved outcomes in health in turn can also contribute to greater well being.
Namaste
Prabir
In a study carried out on a sample population (Schuyler et al, 2012, Social Cognitive and Affective neuroscience) it was found that the individual differences in neuroticism (one of the key attributes of negative trait inversely proportional to well-being) was predicted by greater amygdala signal during the recovery period, but not during the reactivity period.
(Note: Neuroticism is a long term tendency to stay in a negative frame of mind. People with neuroticism are prone to frequent bouts of depression. They also display behaviors like anger, guilt, anxiety and envy on a high severity scale).
This implies that a person's initial reaction to a negative event, either large or small, has little effect on that person's trait levels of neuroticism. The process that results in less neuroticism is how well the person recovers once the negative stimulus is no longer relevant. It has also been found that individuals who are motivated by a purpose in life exhibit the most robust recovery following negative events.
Resilience is not genetically driven. It is true that some individuals are born and coached in early life with strong resilience tendencies. But the greater truth is that those who are low on resilience will continue to be mired in depression. Resilience is a learnable skill. Happy persons are more resilient and the resilient persons are more happy. Happiness and resilience play and grow on one another.
One of the strongest predictors of well being is the quality of an individual's social relationships. (Diener et al, 2002, Psychological Science, 13(1), 81 - 4). In fact when individuals are made to experience social isolation many of the same brain regions become active that are active in the experience of physical pain. (Eisenberger, 2012, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(6), 421 - 34). Behaviors that increase social bonds (altruism and pro -social behavior) reliably increases well being in children and adults. (Aknin et al, 2012, Plos ONE, 7(6), e39211,, Dunn et al, 2008, Science, 319 (5870), 1687 - 88,, Hofmann et al, Science, 345(6202), 1340 - 43) and appears to be consistent across cultures. Pro-social behavior if often linked with better health (Borgonovei et al, 2008, Social Science and Medicine, 60(11), 2321 - 34,, Brown et al, 2005, The Journal of Gerontology series B, 60(3), 143 - 52) and longer life expectancy (Brown et al, 2003, Psychological Science, 14(4), 320 - 27). These improved outcomes in health in turn can also contribute to greater well being.
Namaste
Prabir
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