E11. Open Loops: The Psychology of NOT Knowing
TherapyBites
11/18/22
•35m
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OPEN LOOPS: The Psychology of NOT Knowing!
Audience: Fellow Clinicians & fellow strugglers with uncertainty, unanswered questions, and the unknown.
Psychotherapy Adventurers: Gamer Girl Heather, Super Bookworm Sarah, Squirrel Girl Debbie, & Doc Heath; lifelong anti-ignorance adventurer.
Go to https://TherapyBites.myshopify.com & grab some A.R.T. LAB MERCH, specially designed to help keep this episode’s message “top of mind” in your life! Don’t forget friends & family members who could use a mental boost too.
Show Summary:
In this episode . . .
How is YOUR level of “uncertainty avoidance”?
Do you catastrophize NOT KNOWING?
Are you ADDICTED to “cognitive closure”?
Do you let “lack of knowing” manufacture irritation, anger, fear, or anxiety?
TherapyBites Podcast is the home of A.R.T. LAB which investigates, explores, & educates all about the neuroscience of Accurate, Realistic Thoughts & Life Affirming Beliefs by challenging worn-out, unsubstantiated, ivory tower psychological theories as well as kool-aid drinking, pseudo-psychological social media clap-trap.
Today we venture into the deeper, darker recesses BENEATH the therapy couch to investigate one of the BIGGEST issues humans struggle with juggling and understanding: NOT KNOWING!
Humans are hard-wired to believe that open loops (i.e., unanswered questions, the unknown) are a risk or threat to safety. We believe LABELING things improves our understanding. Sometimes it does. However, these labels often do more to CONFUSE than explain scarcely understood phenomena. Death, for example, is a label that does little to improve our understanding of this particular human experience. It actually has become a word about which there are dozens of sabotaging cognitive distortions.
“Open loops” are psychological “itches” begging to be scratched. That’s completely normal. The key is to be careful in deciding in what cases “not knowing” is actually a threat to safety or security, life or limb.
During today’s episode, we explore some research-proven strategies for programming YOUR brain to deal with this MOST HUMAN of all experiences: NOT KNOWING.
Visit the TBAL Team at: https://therapybites.ac-page.com/team
CLICK BELOW FOR DAILY LIFE-AFFIRMING, PSYCHOLOGICALLY NUTRITIOUS INFO:
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(We love YOUR questions & comments on our social pages)
For more resources, visit:
https://therapybites.podbean.com/e/openloops
USEFUL REFERENCES:
Britton, J. C., Lissek, S., Grillon, C., Norcross, M. A., & Pine, D. S. (2011). Development of anxiety: the role of threat appraisal and fear learning. Depression and anxiety, 28(1), 5-17.
Hohman, Z.P. and Hogg, M.A. (2011), Fear and uncertainty in the face of death: The role of life after death in group identification. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 41: 751-760. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.818
Jung, J.M. and Kellaris, J.J. (2004), Cross-national differences in proneness to scarcity effects: The moderating roles of familiarity, uncertainty avoidance, and need for cognitive closure. Psychology & Marketing, 21: 739-753. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20027
Sarinopoulos, I., Grupe, D. W., Mackiewicz, K. L., Herrington, J. D., Lor, M., Steege, E. E., & Nitschke, J. B. (2010). Uncertainty during anticipation modulates neural responses to aversion in human insula and amygdala. Cerebral cortex, 20(4), 929-940.
FOR OUR VORACIOUS READERS . . . GOBBLE UP THE WHOLE THING!!! (transcript): https://docs.google.com/document/d/12crfQaip90DKPZsGEILg3fDSoq0_7naPN7ub7_mnKVU/edit?usp=sharing
Previous Episode
E10. Please Pardon My ANGER: The Psychology of Difficult Emotions!
November 10, 2022
•44m
Please Pardon My ANGER: The Psychology of Difficult Emotions!
Audience: Fellow Clinicians, fellow strugglers with Irritation - Disgust - Anger - Rage, & those who love them.
Psychotherapy Adventurers: Gamer Girl Heather, Super Bookworm Sarah, Squirrel Girl Debbie, & Doc Heath
Go to https://TherapyBites.myshopify.com & grab some A.R.T. LAB MERCH, specially designed to help keep this episode’s message “top of mind” in your life! Don’t forget friends & family members who could use a mental boost too.
Show Summary: In this episode . . .
TherapyBites Podcast is the home of A.R.T. LAB which investigates, explores, & educates all about the neuroscience of Accurate, Realistic Thoughts & Life Affirming Beliefs by challenging worn-out, unsubstantiated, ivory tower psychological theories as well as kool-aid drinking, pseudo-psychological social media clap-trap.
Today we venture into the deeper, darker recesses BENEATH the therapy couch to explore one of the MOST UNPOPULAR human experiences; a particularly difficult emotion often misunderstood by patients AND clinicians alike.
Should we lobby congress for a law against anger? Judges routinely refer patients to us for “Anger Management”. Two of our favorite actors, Jack Nicholson & Adam Sandler, tackled the topic in a 2003 movie by that very title. Each day, we hear anger demonized as if it is a plague on par with pandemics. But, pardon OUR anger at this, for what is so very pathological about anger, anyway?
Humans are actually engineered for anger and 9 other basic emotions; all completely normal to the human experience: Happy, Sad, Mad, Glad, Disgusted, Ashamed, Stressed, Depressed, Anxious, & Angry are each ABILITIES common to humanity. Imagine DELETING the difficult ones? Red pill or blue pill? Red pill? Presto! All difficult emotions EVAPORATED for-ever! A blessing? Or, a curse?
Join us on today’s episode as we DE-catastrophize ANGER and differentiate it from BEHAVIOR. We can experience our anger AND engage in healthy, adaptive behaviors simultaneously. Anger can add value and meaning to YOUR human experiences AND relationships.
Visit the TBAL Team at: https://therapybites.ac-page.com/team
CLICK BELOW FOR DAILY LIFE-AFFIRMING, PSYCHOLOGICALLY NUTRITIOUS INFO:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Y8hab2i3m3YTqO9I7Rcjg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doc.heath/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therapy_bites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/therapy_bites
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/therapy-bites
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Therapy_Bites/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TherapyBitesPodcast/
(We love YOUR questions & comments on our social pages)
For the full show notes, visit https://therapybites.podbean.com/e/anger
USEFUL REFERENCES:
Dougherty DD, Shin LM, Alpert NM, Pitman RK, Orr SP, Lasko M, Macklin ML, Fischman AJ, Rauch SL. Anger in healthy men: a PET study using script-driven imagery. Biol Psychiatry. 1999 Aug 15;46(4):466-72. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(99)00063-3. PMID: 10459395.
Kashdan, T. and Biswas-Diener, R. (2014). The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self—Not Just your “Good” Self—Drives Success and Fulfillment. New York: Hudson Street Press.
Staske, S. A. (1998). The Normalization Of Problematic Emotion In Conversations Between Close Relational Partners: Interpersonal Emotion Work. Symbolic Interaction, 21(1), 59–86. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.1998.21.1.59
FOR OUR READERS . . . GOBBLE UP THE WHOLE THING!!! (Transcript): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1edXD-ImR1-RfRcW5C5yYFHzmioUMf8yMHFk3Oy1UWQA/edit?usp=sharing
Next Episode
E12. Attitude of Gratitude: The Psychology of Thanksgiving
November 24, 2022
•28m
Attitude of Gratitude: The Psychology of Thanksgiving
Audience: Master catastrophizers, chronic complainers, & professional pessimists, but also those who have experienced difficult, or even tragic, events and struggle with reasons to be grateful.
Psychotherapy Adventurers: Gamer Girl Heather (grateful for opposable thumbs), Super Bookworm Sarah (grateful for her optic nerves), Squirrel Girl Debbie (grateful for furry friends), & Doc Heath; who has so many things for which to be grateful but about which he often UNDER-thinks! He is practicing DAILY his own TFG’s (Targets for Gratefulness) & encourages you to join in.
Go to https://TherapyBites.myshopify.com & grab some A.R.T. LAB MERCH, specially designed to help keep this episode’s message “top of mind” in your life! Don’t forget friends & family members who could use a mental boost too.
Show Summary: In this episode . . .
TherapyBites Podcast is the home of A.R.T. LAB which investigates, explores, & educates all about the neuroscience of Accurate, Realistic Thoughts & Life Affirming Beliefs by challenging worn-out, unsubstantiated, ivory tower psychological theories as well as kool-aid drinking, pseudo-psychological, social media mumbo-jumbo clap-trap.
Today we venture beyond the typical T-Day TurkeyTalk to delve deeper into a study of the benefits of the practice of “Thanksgiving” from a neuroscience perspective. We hope to motivate YOUR engagement in a regular practice of gratitude by identifying specific ‘Targets for Gratefulness’ (TFG’s).
One of the healthiest neuroscience-based training exercises is the identification of “Targets for Gratefulness” (TFG).
Once identified, we can utilize mindfulness techniques (please join in & follow our Mindful Good Morning posts) to explore various aspects of gratefulness in relation to a targeted event, situation, circumstance, person, object, thought, or realization. This can be in relation to ourselves, others, or the universe around us.
1) CHOOSE a Target for Gratefulness (TFG).
2) EXPLORE overlooked aspects of your TFG.
3) BREATHE as you become MINDFUL of these often overlooked facets of life.
4) AGREE with yourself to continue being mindful of this gratitude focus as you prepare your evening meal, as you enjoy each bite of food, as you spend time with yourself or others significant to you.
5) REALIZE that gratitude, like oxygen, may be breathed in and out, sharing with others in our own personal orbit. Gratitude cultivates relationships, improves physical and mental health including immune function, & engineers greater levels of empathy/perspective-taking. Gratitude reduces inaccurate, unrealistic thoughts (IUTy’s), promotes sleep hygiene, & builds resilience.
6) SHARE your TFG in the comments below. We can all benefit from one another’s experiences.
Gratefulness can add value AND meaning to YOUR human experiences & relationships. Join us on today’s episode as we bite into the science of GRATITUDE and give YOUR “BGC Neurons” a much needed vacation.
Visit the TBAL Team at: https://therapybites.ac-page.com/team
CLICK BELOW FOR DAILY LIFE-AFFIRMING, PSYCHOLOGICALLY NUTRITIOUS INFO:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Y8hab2i3m3YTqO9I7Rcjg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doc.heath/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therapy_bites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/therapy_bites
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/therapy-bites
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Therapy_Bites/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TherapyBitesPodcast/
(We love YOUR questions & comments on our social pages)
For the full show notes, visit https://therapybites.podbean.com/e/gratitude
USEFUL REFERENCES:
Davis, D. E., Choe, E., Meyers, J., Wade, N., Varjas, K., Gifford, A., ... & Worthington Jr, E. L. (2016). Thankful for the little things: A meta-analysis of gratitude interventions. Journal of counseling psychology, 63(1), 20.
Emmons, R. A., & Stern, R. (2013). Gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention. Journal of clinical psychology, 69(8), 846-855.
Kerr, S. L., O’Donovan, A., & Pepping, C. A. (2015). Can gratitude and kindness interventions enhance well-being in a clinical sample?. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(1), 17-36.
FOR OUR VORACIOUS READERS . . . GOBBLE UP THE WHOLE THING!!! (transcript): https://docs.google.com/document/d/11TU9IlhwBX_Q_6_EaPsUbfhCEWIZjdr9vAIhnY9PECU/edit?usp=sharing
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