If you heard stories of loss and loss and loss and grief and loss and guilt and shame and sadness and loss, this would have an effect on your values, beliefs, nervous system, limbic system, reproductive system, stereo system...

I feel bad so lets put on depressing music when going through hard times so that stressful emotions can do more damage please.

So the stereo system gets effected when you hear stories of loss.

Focusing on loser stories wires the brain to get used to losing and to not flexing the 'winning muscles' in the brain.

Winning muscles?

If a person wins and loses at least they know what winning feels like.  They can get excited at the idea of winning again.  So the state of excitement is a practiced state of being or a winning muscle.
Dopamine!  Endorphins!  Yes!!!

On the other hand, if there is only losing stories, then there is no excitement.

There aren't any feel good states circulating.

Eventually this state of guilt, sadness, shame etc becomes further habituated.

We can become very skilled at feeling bad just from all the practicing!

The real kicker is that the brain becomes wired to feel bad more often than not and can't get to a feel good state for any sustainable time.  This is called anhedonia.

'Anhedonia' is the inability to experience pleasure in things normally rewarding.
'It's also a cardinal symptom of depression' - Aaron Heller

This was discovered in the research that led to the conclusion that 'depression saps endurance of the brain's reward circuitry.

Very bad!

circuiting
Bad brain, why you do that?

It was those stories of loss and worry cycling through over and over.
The stories we tell ourselves have an effect on the brain and consequently our behaviour!

Fortunately, software is re-writeable.

The brain has the ability to rewire itself in response to experience.
This is something you can use to your benefit or your detriment and everyone is doing it every day.  So how to give your brain the experiential learning that allows neuroplasticity to rewire your brain in better ways?

It has a large part with what stories you are telling yourself and how they end.

The stereo system sounds amazing now that the music is different.

And they danced.

Fin.

 

 

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