Damping effect of emotions: why we again agree that it was really bad
Forming / / December 19, 2019
The first time I performed at amateur competitions CrossFit, it was just awful. The room was wildly cold, warm up was difficult, but I was there for the whole day, periodically performing suicidal complexes.
After the first, I thought that you have to crawl out from the area, because the legs have given up, but after the second wanted to go home and change CrossFit on yoga. In general, I was bad and no fun. But after six months, and I signed up for the new competition.
Remember how often you tell funny stories about how you were scared, hurt, hurt. However, any scrape a couple of years can be an excellent joke. All this explains the effect of emotional decay.
What kind of effect
Richard Walker (Richard Walker) conducted three studiesAutobiographical memory: unpleasantness fades faster than pleasantness over time, Which compared the emotions people immediately after the event and after three months, one year and 4.5 years after it.
The subjects kept diaries: recorded the events of his life and rated how pleasant it was each of them. Scientists collected notes every week, and at the end of the experiment participants were invited to a laboratory for evaluation of past events.
All three experiments showed that the more time that passed, the less emotion is what happened.
But then we found one oddity: the negative emotions faded faster positive.
It would seem, from an evolutionary point of view it is kept longer useful negative emotions. Because they occur in response to something unpleasant, and therefore, can help a person avoid potentially dangerous events. But the researchers found the opposite effect.
Why do people forget the negative
There are several reasons for the negative so quickly disappears from memory.
Changing circumstances and attitude to them
People change throughout their lives. And what once seemed a disaster, in the light of new experiences can appear in a different way.
For example, a man makes a proposal, and the woman refuses. He feels anger, sadness, frustration. After a while he finds another the Lady, which suits him more, and creates a strong and happy family.
In the light of new developments memories of the past sweetheart can cause positive emotions.
After all, if she had not refused the marriage, the man would have wasted time and gained a wonderful family that is with him right now.
In the same way can be replaced by childhood memories. For example, while you were covered in a cold sweat at the thought of the monster under the bed. But now I understand that there was no danger, and memories cause a smile.
Presentation of the history with a better hand
Most striking cases of life turn into stories. Because everyone wants to present his life as something interesting and generally good, emotional coloring of events changes frequently.
Positive stories causing laughter of others, that pleases the narrator and change it memory about real emotions experienced in the past.
Over time, these circumstances are erased, and only the story remains in memory. And people believe that all it was.
This theory is supported by research How Describing Autobiographical Events Can Affect Autobiographical MemoriesDuring which people were asked to recall the four stories of life: two popular told by more than 10 times, and two private, that share is not more than five times. Also, the participants had to recall instances in which they shared with a wide range of people and stories to a narrow audience.
It turned out that the popular stories that have been told more often and in larger companies were more positive than the personal stories for a narrow circle of listeners.
Why do we need this mechanism
There are several reasons and they all needed to mental health person.
Getting rid of excess stress
Life events do not disappear - they remain in the memory and become a part of your history.
Remembering the bad things, you are experiencing negative emotions, and the body reacts to this releaseMind your thoughts: associations between self-generated thoughts and stress-induced and baseline levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase. of cortisol - a stress hormone.
If negative emotions are not faded over time, you are much more likely to be depressed.
And it's badThe Stressed CNS: When Glucocorticoids Aggravate Inflammation, Associations of Salivary Cortisol With Cognitive Function in the Baltimore Memory Study, Clinical review: The pathogenetic role of cortisol in the metabolic syndrome: a hypothesis. for cognitive and overall health.
Adoption of a positive view of yourself and your life
That everything will be fine to operate successfully in society, to cope with new experiences and maintain the motivation to do something, a person needs to know that he's great, and believe.
It is proved that people with depression and anxiety disorders emotions damping effect works worseTrait anxiety reduces affective fading for both positive and negative autobiographical memoriesSo they dragged for a much more negative from the past.
The effect of the attenuation of negative emotions also helps to create a positive view of yourself and your life and continue to proceed, despite the fact that mistakes, failures and emotional pain on waiting every step.
How to avoid this effect,
Despite the fact that this effect of emotions decay just need a man for life, it can sometimes be misleading.
For example, when you agree again that did not bring the last time fun. Surely in your life are events during which you thought, "This is the last time! I'm more than that will not do. " But later, under the influence of other people agree again.
In such situations, it may help to maintain diary. This is generally useful thing that will save you from wasting time. If you vaguely remember that in the past the event has brought little joy, re-read his notes and draw conclusions.
see also🧐
- 20 cognitive biases that affect your decisions
- The trap of thinking: why are we afraid of terrorist attacks, but crossing the road on red light
- Pitfalls of perception: how the senses distort reality