Showing posts with label When. Show all posts
Showing posts with label When. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
When people worry about math the brain feels the pain
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| UChicago researchers have found that the higher a person’s anxiety about math, the more anticipating math activated areas of the brain related to experiencing pain. |
Using brain scans, scholars determined that the brain areas active when highly math-anxious people prepare to do math overlap with the same brain areas that register the threat of bodily harm -- and in some cases, physical pain.
"For someone who has math anxiety, the anticipation of doing math prompts a similar brain reaction as when they experience pain -- say, burning one's hand on a hot stove," said Sian Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and a leading expert on math anxiety.
Surprisingly, the researchers found it was the anticipation of having to do math, and not actually doing math itself, that looked like pain in the brain. "The brain activation does not happen during math performance, suggesting that it is not the math itself that hurts; rather the anticipation of math is painful," added Ian Lyons, a 2012 PhD graduate in psychology from UChicago and a postdoctoral scholar at Western University in Ontario, Canada.
The two report their findings in a paper, "When Math Hurts: Math Anxiety Predicts Pain Network Activation in Anticipation of Doing Math," in the current issue of PLoS One.
For the study, the scholars worked with 14 adults who were shown to have math anxiety based on their responses to a series of questions about math. The questions gauged one's anxiety when receiving a math textbook, walking to math class or realizing math requirements for graduation. Additional tests showed that these individuals were not overly anxious in general; instead, their heightened sense of anxiety was specific to math-related situations.
The study volunteers were tested in an fMRI machine, which allowed researchers to examine brain activity as they did math. Volunteers were given mathematics equations to verify -- for example, the validity of the following equation: (12 x 4) -- 19 = 29. While in the fMRI scanner, subjects were also shown short word puzzles. For these puzzles, people saw a series of letters (for example: yrestym) and had to determine if reversing the order of the letters produced a correctly spelled English word.
The fMRI scans showed that the anticipation of math caused a response in the brain similar to physical pain. The higher a person's anxiety about math, the more anticipating math activated the posterior insula -- a fold of tissue located deep inside the brain just above the ear that is associated with registering direct threats to the body as well as the experience of pain. Interestingly, math anxiety levels were not associated with brain activity in the insula or in any other neural region when volunteers were doing math.
The work by Lyons and Beilock suggests that, for those with math anxiety, a painful sense of dread may begin long before a person sits down to take a math test. Previous research has shown that highly math anxious individuals tend to avoid math-related situations and even math-related career paths. The current work suggests that such avoidance stems in part from painful anxiety.
The current work is also consistent with other research from Beilock and Lyons, in which they showed that the mere anticipation of doing mathematics changes functioning in the brains of people with high levels of math anxiety. Beilock's work, supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education, has also shown that mathematics anxiety can begin as early as first grade, and that female elementary school teachers often transmit their math anxiety to their female students.
This latest study points to the value of seeing math anxiety not just as a proxy for poor math ability, but as an indication there can be a real, negative psychological reaction to the prospect of doing math. This reaction needs to be addressed like any other phobia, the researchers said. Rather than simply piling on math homework for students who are anxious about math, students need active help to become more comfortable with the subject, Beilock said. Beilock's work has shown, for instance, that writing about math anxieties before a test can reduce one's worries and lead to better performance.
Beilock is the author of the best-selling book about stress and performance, "Choke: What The Secrets Of The Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Chicago. The original article was written by William Harms.
Sunday, 4 September 2016
8 Things To Remember When You Think You’re Not Good Enough
Negative self talk is something that seems to affect all of us at one time or another. I know I can say myself that it has been a problem in my past, and even now still creeps up on me from time to time.
We all have different reasons as to why we might think we are not good enough inside, whether it be because we think we can’t do something, we haven’t achieved enough or that we simply don’t have all the skills to make something happen. We may go through hard times or challenges and make them even harder as we start telling ourselves a series of stories as to how we got in this “mess” to begin with.
“I always have this happen to me.” “I will never be able to achieve what I want.” “It’s too hard for me to change.” “Others have it easier than me and are capable of more.”
The bottom line is, no matter what stories we tell ourselves, we can overcome any challenge we face as we wouldn’t be in it if we couldn’t overcome it. But, like you, I have been through a number of challenges in my life and have learned a lot along the way about overcoming these stories and that’s what I want to share today.
1. Your Mind Will Trick You & Even Scare You
I think back to when CE was first getting started. I was still working a job and I wanted to take things full time and really expand CE to the next level. Many of my friends and family already thought much of what I shared through CE was “weird” simply because it was different and challenged them. Leaving a good job to run a website wasn’t something many thought could work and because of the constant words of discouragement, I believed that at times too.
If what I was doing wasn’t about money how could I ever survive? How would I pay my bills and move forward in life? Something like this could never support me. These were many of the thoughts I not only heard from others but told myself. And until I pushed through them and took action, those stories did cripple me from moving forward. Even when I chose to move forward, thoughts still came in and my mind told me stories that things wouldn’t work, would fall apart and that I should be careful. Yet I’m still here..
Be smart with your choices, feel them out and go with what you feel inside. But don’t let your mind scare you from doing something.
2. People You Compare Yourself To Have Challenges Too
I’ve been through this one quite a few times. The people we often compare ourselves to; “I wish I was able to be as good as that person at something,” often have many challenges that you don’t see. While we think just because they may have or excel at something we think their lives are perfect, there’s a lot more to the story and often times “being” them isn’t going to suddenly make us happy. Not to mention it’s not about chasing things, achievements or happiness, it’s about allowing yourself to be YOU and allowing others to be themselves. We’re not all meant to be the same and each of us come with our own unique journey. Appreciate yours.
3. Your Impact On Others Is Always Powerful, No Matter How Many People You Affect
Sometimes we have cravings to really want to make an impact and we think we are too small or are incapable of helping to inspire others or change the world. Until we remember that no matter how big or small one’s actions are they still can change the world and affect others, we will always be chasing more.
People have shared their love and thanks with me many times about my work and what I’ve done to impact them, yet when I get caught up in thinking about how much MORE I could be doing, I don’t feel peace about what I’m doing now. Sometimes a simple act of being kind to someone can impact another in a way that affects 1000 more. Don’t underestimate and play down your own individual power.
4. You Are Exactly Where You Need To Be
“When I finally get beyond ‘this’ or get good at ‘this’ I will be happy and ready to go!” How many times have we said that about something? Again it can come down to comparing ourselves to others. It’s a cycle we get in where we look at where we are now and simply think it’s not good enough. Trust where you are. It’s perfect for you. It doesn’t mean you don’t take action and simply ‘chill’ where you are. No, instead be at peace inside about where you are, accept it and take steps to continue moving forward but be patient with yourself. You will get to where you need to be. Enjoy the journey of it all, focus less on the result.
5. When You Get To Where You Think You Should Be, You Still Won’t Have Peace Unless..
Peace and happiness is an inside job. It’s partly why I don’t like to use the word “happy” too often. We get caught up in chasing it and we always use external things to feel it. It’s an emotion, not a state of being. It has an opposite and that opposite is sadness. We often set up conditions for our happiness. If I do this, have this or become this I will be happy, if not, I’m sad. Peace or what we could call ‘true happiness’ is something that isn’t about what we do but our state of being. It’s about kicking out all the stories and patterns that keep us out of peace, our natural state.
6. Negative Self Talk Is Not Going To Make Things Better & Can Be Addictive
This is another big one that is very common. Very much related to what’s been mentioned already, getting into negative self talk and doing it consistently doesn’t make anything better and usually only makes things worse. But we get so addicted to it. It becomes like a habit where the first thing out of our mouths when someone asks us something about what we are doing or how we feel is a negative piece about yourself.
Considering there is no purpose to negative self talk other than to maybe you that you about self-love, kick the habit. Start observing how often you do it and then make an effort to stop before you start next time. Soon enough you won’t even have the thoughts coming to your head anymore.
7. You Are Not What You Do
So many times we get caught up in the idea that if we do something, we will suddenly have more value and thus when we don’t do something or don’t achieve something we feel worthless or not good enough. But, we are not what we do. That does not make up who we are and our “achievements” don’t make us any better or worse of a person. Sure, it’s OK to be pleased with yourself if you did something great, but it isn’t about making that part of your identity and then suddenly feeling like you have more value. Likewise when we don’t do or haven’t done something, it does not make us any better or worse. If you’re waiting for that moment of completing something to feel worthy, you might be waiting a lifetime.
8. Take A Moment, Think Of How Awesome You Truly Are
Finally, just take a moment and think about you as a being. No doubt you’ve done some awesome things in this life time, but can you say that to yourself? Instead of defining so much about you as being “bad” or focusing on times you weren’t happy with yourself, ask yourself why you even feel that way about yourself to begin with? Why do you feel that because you aren’t a certain way that you are not worthy or good enough? Challenge yourself to explore and find answers to this, you will learn a lot about yourself. When you understand how your belief systems work, you can also learn how to kick them. Then simply look at yourself from a neutral stand point and see the true brilliance of yourself. You are not the stories your mind makes up about you.
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