Even if you hear praise and criticism at the same time, strangely enough, negative evaluations stay in your mind longer. Even when I try to think positively, negative thoughts keep coming first. Recognizing that negative thinking is not good for your mental health, and trying to stop it is not enough to get rid of negative thoughts and anxiety. Why. The cause can be found in a phenomenon called ‘negative bias’.
Negative emotions are normal reactions｜Source: Getty Image Bank
Negative thinking is a survival instinct
Negativity bias refers to the tendency to focus more on the negative between the negative and the positive. Roy Baumeister, professor of social psychology at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, writes in his book, “Because of the negativity bias, people pay special attention to negative situations and see them as more exaggerated than they really are.” Explained.
In fact, humanity’s focus on the negative side is more of an effort to survive. The human brain is designed to avoid dangerous situations as much as possible. When threatened or stressed, the basal ganglia, a region of the brain associated with motor function and emotion, elicits the fight-or-flight response. When the fight-or-flight response occurs, the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol increases in the body, and the brain chooses whether to fight or run away from the situation.
In addition, the limbic system, which is associated with emotions and behaviour, triggers emotions in response to threats when the body feels dangerous, and the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for abstract thought and concrete, responding to dangerous situations. to think logically when you shut up.
The negative bias is similarly a cognitive mechanism that humans have developed to combat threats. In the primitive period, mankind was often put in situations where life was at stake such as wild beasts and natural disasters, and at this time, the negative bias was a great help to avoid the situation. Even now that civilization has developed, the negative bias plays a big role so that we can assume the worst situations like natural disasters, epidemics and wars and prepare in advance to overcome them. “Human beings are very sensitive to threats, and even a 5-year-old child can detect negative emotions from parents or friends better than positive ones,” said Professor Baumeister.
Stop living on negative thoughts
The problem is that although the negative bias can protect us from extreme situations such as excessive stress, it is not very useful in our everyday lives. Professor Baumeister argued, “Until we develop the ability to ignore negativity, we see and respond to the world negatively.” In fact, various studies have proven that people tend to interpret neutral or ambiguous situations negatively, and that they are more obsessed with the negative than the positive. Researchers at McGill University in Canada found that when people read newspaper or news articles, they prefer articles that deal with negative events, such as pollution and accidents, rather than positive or neutral news.
In addition, Randy J. Larsen, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Washington, USA, said, “Negative emotions last longer than positive or happy emotions. “The reason why negative words and events still have an effect age after decades have passed is that we instinctively react more strongly to negative things.”
So, what can we do to overcome the negative bias? First of all, you have to admit that negative emotions or thoughts are normal instinctual reactions. In addition, it is desirable to be aware of the fact that there is a high probability that the various negative thoughts that come to your head will not actually happen.
Looking at the world negatively is a common reaction that stems from a survival instinct, but it can be hard to bear for modern people who live with stress and various mental problems. Haidak Mental Health Medicine Counseling Doctor Lee Seung-hun (Myongji Hospital Myongji Medical Institute Medical Institute) said, “If you have negative thoughts, depression or anxiety, negative memories such as past mistakes and regrets come to mind, and you worry again, a vicious cycle of emotions. It continues,” he said. Therefore, trying not to cling to negative emotions and worries is the way to personal happiness.
Support = Professor Lee Seung-hoon, counseling physician at Haidak (specializing in psychiatric medicine at Myongji Hospital, Myongji Medical Institute)
