The Neuroscience of Change: Why Changing Course is Painful for the Brain
Sep 24, 2020
Dr Boschi
Sep 24, 2020
- Our brain, to some extent, dictates how we might respond to certain situations and stimuli
- Dr Helena Boschi explores how uncertainty, neurological laziness, and our outcome expectations explain our resistance to change
We naturally resist change because change represents uncertainty - and uncertainty is threatening and painful for a brain that wants to keep us safe and alive. Although many of today's threats are no longer life-or-death situations, our brain still protects us as if they were just that.
When we feel uncertain or anxious, our fight or flight mechanisms are mobilised. Resources are diverted from the frontal lobe area, which we use for higher-level intellectual functioning, and become focused instead on survival.
Our capacity for rational thought is thus diminished, and even when the change is a good idea, we still resist it.
Our response to change may be summarised as follows:
- Change uncertainty
- Threat response fight or flight
- Increased anxiety and fear
- Reduced ability to focus and think clearly
- Impaired performance and increased emotion
Dr Boschi
