Norman Farb is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he heads the Regulatory and Emotional Dynamics Laboratory and is a Fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. Jinder Segal is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto Scarborough.they are the authors of Better in every sense of the word: How new sensory science can help you take back your life.
February’s “dark and gloomy” days remind us of the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Wet day, depicts a rich connection between bad weather and despair, the feeling of being trapped in an environment that drains the spirit rather than nourishing it. In weather like this, it’s tempting to just put our heads down and just go through it in silence, avoiding the world around us until the seasons change.
And catering to those desires and escaping reality has never been easier. Many of us carry our smartphones and tablets with us throughout our waking hours, providing a constant escape from our waking lives into a world more in our control. The habit is now so strong that it may seem strange to smile at a stranger on the street, let alone in a crowded bus. Running away became the default. When something happens in real life, kids now say “IRL” to clarify.
The problem is, if you get used to sticking your head in the sand, who will notice when the weather gets nicer?
The increasing prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in Canada suggests that our avoidance patterns won’t suddenly weaken with the spring sunshine. Statistics Canada released sobering data last fall showing that anxiety and depression rates have doubled since 2012, but this trend is not a product of seasonal changes. Have we not encountered another kind of trap as we try to avoid the “ordinary things” of everyday life?
One of the largest neuroimaging studies ever conducted in formerly depressed patients elicited negative emotions by showing people a sad film clip that recreated Longfellow’s Rainy Day in the lab. . But this was just the first step. After all, Longfellow warns, “There must be rain in every life.” The question we wanted to answer was why some of us are able to weather life’s gloomy and rough weather so well, while others get stuck in a rut.
So we checked in on the participants over the next two years to see who managed to survive, given their past struggles with depression. What we discovered surprised us. The people who became depressed again were not the ones who experienced negative emotions after watching the movie clip. Rather, it was the tendency to suppress the sensory part of the brain, the part where the visceral, embodied aspects of our emotions reside, that predicted future depression. The problem wasn’t that I felt too much, it was that I had become too good at avoiding emotions altogether.
Through our research over the past few decades, we have repeatedly seen that negative emotions seem to rob people of their sensory abilities, literally turning off the sensory parts of their brains. In their absence, networks of self-judgment and rumination operate freely. This is a neuroscience recipe for fatigue and hopelessness. Our latest research confirms that the habit of avoiding bad emotions is a kind of pyrrhic victory. It replaces the gloomy mood with an oppressive numbness and meaninglessness that is difficult to shake off.
But this new insight gave me hope. We may be able to escape from despair and return to a world where growth is possible. By activating the sensory parts of the brain, the brain networks that seek negative judgment and self-evaluation are naturally calmed down. Every performer who takes a deep breath before taking action has already intuited how the senses can calm the mind. The challenge is to bring this understanding into everyday life.
Fortunately, it’s always possible to reactivate your brain’s sensory networks. The only cost is making the time to pay attention. It’s about intentionally meeting the feeling of the moment, rather than looking for the next distraction or expected payoff. We call these acts of sensory attention the process of “sensory foraging.” This is similar to training the body through exercise or training the mind through formal education.
If this sounds very Zen-like, it’s because many meditative traditions already understand that the senses are a natural way to quiet the overactive mind. Neuroscience is only now catching up. Scientists have already established that sensory attention is enough to activate parts of our brain. New evidence shows that sensory activation naturally suppresses cognitive networks activated by stress.
We can see that this advice resonates in many sectors of society. Last month, the Canadian Pediatric Association sent out a strong recommendation that encouraging more “risky play” can improve childhood development. Perhaps we are putting a little too much restraint on our children. too safe From embracing the sensory chaos of the playground. The rise of horticultural therapy resonates with a new theory for young people to ‘touch grass’ when they spend too much time online. And if you think back to the original issue of Seasonal Affective Disorder, there is a known cure for this relatively temporary condition, which literally takes time to let light in through your eyes.
There is growing evidence that making time for sensory experiences is essential for mental health. Perhaps each of us should take some time today to forage in some sense and see if a little sunlight shines through.
