Negative Cycle

Notes

A negative cycle is whenever we do an activity which is harmful for our wellbeing, which only strenghen our Desire to promote that activity Path Dependence.

There are two main ways of falling into a negative cycle.

The first is when we are tempted to do a certain activity. When we are unable to exert Self-control over our behavior and we give into Temptations or harmful ways of thinking, we might get stuck in negative cycle. It starts from feeling stressed or anxious, which causes us a desire to escape from this sensation, often through bad habits of temptations or other mind numbing activity. If that activity is particularly harmful, it intensifies the negativity of the cycle.

Afterwards, once we "wake up" from our uncontrollable episode, we have a clear enough mind to say "never again" and have a Clean Slate. However, most often we feel that we expect too much or too intensely from ourselves, which leads to feelings of anxiety which starts the cycle all over again. This cycle habituates negative behavior which can end up as an Addiction.

The second type is when we fall into Emotional hijacking, when we can't stop from damaging ourselves actively, even though "we know better" Insight Gap. For example, when we experience Anger or engage in Self Criticism, we know that these are emotions that we don't want to feel, that we would have preferred to live without them, yet they serve a purpose. Instead of just mind numbing activities like the first case, these are actions that are meant to justify our actions, our situation, to rid ourselves of the Responsibility over our own lives and behavior, to promote Helplessness.

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Overview

🔼Topic:: Wellbeing (MOC) ↩️Origin:: The Willpower Instinct (book) 🔗Link::