Immersion
A search for how to live a meaningful life in the modern world. Exploring psychology, philosophy, and the world around us. Let’s dive 30 minutes beneath the surface each Sunday together. | Hosted by Pamela Carey
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or licensed psychologist
Immersion
Your Brain Has an Immune System for Sadness: & How to strengthen it
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Why do we recover from heartbreaks, job losses, and injuries faster than we could ever imagine?
For example, if you were fired today or left at the altar, how long would you be miserable? You probably guess "months or years." But the science suggests this is not necessarily the case.
We often underestimate our ability to heal because we don't realize we have a Psychological Immune System. Just like your body fights infection with a physical immune system, your brain has a built-in mechanism to metabolize grief, reject despair, and return you to baseline happiness much faster than you predict.
But unlike your physical immune system, you have to know how to trigger it for it to work most effectively.
In this episode, we are looking under the hood of the Psychological Immune System. We explore not just what it is, but how to actively strengthen it so you can fear failure and setbacks less.
We also cover:
- The Components: The mix of conscious actions (soothing) and unconscious edits (memory) that heal us.
- The "Rose-Tinted" Effect: How our memory edits the past to protect our future.
- Irreversibility: Why burning your boats might actually make you happier than keeping your options open.
- Synthetic Happiness vs. Natural Happiness: Is one really better than the other?
- Cognitive reframes: including CBT and The Work of Byron Katie
- And the many psychological factors as play such as locus of control and impact bias
Prior episodes mentioned:
On Reversible and Irreversible Decisions and Commitment: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318937/episodes/18391487
Part 1 in Happiness Series: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318937/episodes/18486848
Resources 📖
- Stumbling on Happiness by Dan Gilbert (the book referenced) and here is his TED talk https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_the_surprising_science_of_happiness
-The Work by Byron Katie https://thework.com/2017/10/four-liberating-questions/
-Article mentioned: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dating-and-mating/202004/don-t-underestimate-your-psychological-immune-system
-https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-09663-004
-https://thebtrc.com/understanding-the-psychological-immune-system-and-its-role-in-trauma-recovery/
-On moving from negative to neutral and how we can implement the immune system to take more risks: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/aug/14/the-psychological-immune-system-four-ways-to-bolster-yours-and-have-a-happier-calmer-life
- On Defense Mechanisms: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/defense-mechanisms
