Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life
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effect and causes the person to become very depressed, whereas a right - side stroke has a laissez - faire effect and causes much less depression. • The relative inhibition of the left PFC and the relative activa- tion of the right PFC are associated with depression (O ’ Doherty, Kringelback, Rolls, Hornak, and Andrews, 2001). • The left PFC is associated with positive emotions and is action - oriented. • The right PFC is associated with negative emotions and is passive - oriented. • Language, making interpretive sense of events, and generating positive and optimistic emotions are all products of robust left hemispheric functioning. • Instead of putting details into context, depressed patients are overwhelmed by a global negative perspective. The right hemi- sphere favors global thinking. • Behavioral activation (the left PFC) is one of the principal therapies for depression. Thus, making an effort to put yourself out there helps you lift depression. In fact, “ putting on a happy face ” is actually helpful. Here ’ s how it works: There are neural pathways that link the facial muscles, the cranial nerves, the subcortical areas, and the cortex. Information fl ows down from the brain to the face and also back up again. For example, if you contract the muscles on the right side of your face, that activates your left hemisphere, which creates the likelihood of a positive emotional bias. In contrast, if you contract the muscles on the left side of your face, that activates your right hemisphere, which creates the likelihood of a negative bias. c03.indd 51 c03.indd 51 1/29/10 10:10:33 AM 1/29/10 10:10:33 AM 52 Rew i r e Yo u r B r a i n Mona Lisa The connection of the right facial muscles to the left hemisphere and the left facial muscles to the right hemisphere is called contra- lateral functioning . Think of Mona Lisa . The right side of her face is smiling, but the left side of her face indicates a neutral or negative emotion. This difference can be seen more clearly if you paste together two left sides of her face and two right sides of her face. Since the left hemisphere processes more positive emotions and the right hemisphere processes more negative emotions, those emo- tions are refl ected in each side of the face. Thus, when you force a smile or a frown, you ’ re triggering the feelings associated with happiness or sadness. By smiling or frown- ing you send messages to your subcortical and cortical areas that resonate with happy or sad feelings. So put on a happy face — it helps you to feel better! In addition to being linked to sad feelings, the right hemisphere is also generally more passive. The left hemisphere, in addition to processing positive emotions, is associated with action. Taking action helps people to feel less depressed, whereas inaction or passivity creates sad feelings. People who are depressed under- activate their left frontal lobes. If you are prone to feeling down more than up, activating your left frontal lobe by doing something constructive will help you to shift out of the chronic low emotional foundation. The left fi eld of vision corresponds to the right hemisphere, and the right fi eld of vision corresponds to the left hemisphere. In other words, when you look to the left, you ’ re activating your right hemisphere, and when you look to the right, you ’ re activating your left hemisphere. Sometimes you need a dose of detachment to move yourself beyond negative thoughts and emotions. In other words, you need to learn how to take things less seriously. Humor promotes neuro- plasticity, and it is a wonderful treatment for what ails you. If you are sad, humor serves as a brief nudge from one mood state to another. c03.indd 52 c03.indd 52 1/29/10 10:10:33 AM 1/29/10 10:10:33 AM S h i ft i n g Le ft 53 Avoid tear - jerker dramas, because they promote a tearful mood. Try watching comedies to help you detach from negative thoughts and feelings. Comedies allow you to lift out of the sad state you were in and move into another, happier state. In this sense, humor is a soothing method of detachment, especially if the humor is not degrading to another person. Humor Chemistry Humor is a boost to your biochemistry. It helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol while it increases immunoglobulin, nat- ural killer (NK) cells, and plasma cytokine gamma interferon levels. Immunoglobulin consists of the antibodies that help the immune system to fi ght infections; it serves as one of the body ’ s primary defense mechanisms. NK cells seek out and destroy abnormal cells; they are a key mechanism for what is called Yüklə 1,07 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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