My entire life I have been chided for not "living in the moment." That is because I always concentrate on what needs to be done and how I can best achieve it. This is a good trait for obligations like school, work, and finances; but it poses a problem when I just want to relax. I feel that I literally cannot shut off my brain when I'd like to, and it causes me a great deal of frustration.
A journal article I was reading the other day presents an answer to my problem. Entitled "Altered reward processing in women recovered from anorexia nervosa," the study explores the neurological reactions of recovered anorexic women to a game that tests the reward mechanism through a series of guesses that resulted in either wins or losses. While the healthy control women exhibited an increase in function of the area of the brain that is involved in the loss-reward mechanism, the formerly anorexic women were understimulated by rewards. Instead, their brains were active in the caudate region, which is involved in planning and assessing future consequences. Rather than living in the moment, they were busy looking ahead to the next round of the game.
I am always comforted to know that a certain way I am is not just a function of failed will power. Although I may always have an overactive caudate, I can use that skill to my advantage by planning for the safety and happiness of the people I love. If that is what gives me happiness over the pleasures of the moment, I am just fine with that.
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too bad this isn't facebook or I would "like" this. I would be interested in reading that article!
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