Every day before leaving for work, Danny Brown spent time in front of his window to capture the day outside when he was in the office. When he got home, he could miss her while he was locked into the computer during the work day.
“It was a tremendous shift in perspective that required me to change my way of thinking,” Brown told Salon in a phone interview. “For me, the change was from a daily experience to this almost overview effect — like nature went on today, while I was focused on the expense report… or this cold front moved in and I didn’t even notice it. “
Eventually, Brown quit his office job to go back to school to study this feeling, where it came from, and whether it had the power to heal the body and mind.
“I realized I was getting through time and what I was tapping into was amazing,” Brown said.
A sense of wonder can wash over you while watching the sunset or standing next to a giant redwood tree. It can occur when your baby takes his first steps or holds the hand of a loved one as they pass. Defined as “a feeling of reverential reverence combined with awe or wonder,” awe is not inherently positive or negative but a complex emotion that meaningfully affects everyone at some point in their lives. It is associated with experiences.
“You have to participate in the experience — it makes a difference to you in some way.”
Wonder occurs when we experience a sense of enormity, which can be triggered by something like walking through the Grand Canyon, or by understanding something with far-reaching implications, such as conceptually, psychologically. And Johns Hopkins associate professor of behavioral sciences, said Dr. David Yaden. which studies altered states of consciousness. The experience of this vastness is ultimately about recognition: recognizing our smallness to the world around us or, perhaps, recognizing ourselves in another.
“That experience then needs to be understood or adjusted into your existing psychological schema,” Yeaden told Salon in a phone interview. “Basically, you have to participate in the experience — it makes a difference to you in some way.”
Experiencing surprise has a neurological effect. One in 2019 studyexperiencing fear was associated with decreased activity in the brain’s default mode network, which is associated with self-reflective thinking and also helps you identify where your body’s boundaries are with the outside world. are
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“Surprisingly there are often tactile sensations, and it’s a bit of a conjecture, but you can imagine that this change in your physical boundaries might lend itself to better tactile sensations,” Yedin said. ”
It may also be that fear can be a useful tool in promoting mental well-being. Self-focus and rumination are at the root of many mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, and facing fear is, in a way, one of those unpleasant thoughts. Some can free the mind, said Dr. Deutscher Kaltner, faculty director of the Greater Good. Science Center and professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, who has written A book about wonder.
It can also reduce feelings of wonder or loneliness by fostering a sense of interconnectedness, said Dr. Alice Chirico, director of the Experiment Lab at the Catholic University of Milan, who studies wonder.
“[Awe] Chirico told Salon in an email, helping us experience a so-called sense of a ‘small self’ where individuals naturally reduce self-regarding thoughts and ruminations—key drivers of depression. Reduces
It is also at the heart of self-centered psychological research. A large proportion of people who undergo psychedelic therapy Report experiencing mystical experienceswhich often involves feelings of surprise. Although mystical experiences may bring to mind religious or spiritual connotations that are inherently at odds with the scientific paradigm, these experiences—whether they are reached through psychedelics or something like meditation—have been objectively experienced and demonstrated. Long-term effects on psychological functioning.
However, some Cycladic researchers have suggested Psychedelics can still have therapeutic effects without the “trip” or “experience” part of the psychedelic experience. But the idea is being debated within the field, with others saying it’s a self-transcending experience Central to the benefits cyclids provide And that they are much more effective if that experiential factor is integrated in addition to medication.
“I think so [the awe effect] “I think that to lock in long, lasting, permanent changes, you need to change your feelings, attitudes and beliefs about yourself in the world,” Yeaden said. is “
In other studies, fear has been studied reduce stress, Soft feelings of grief after loss, And Reduce feelings of hopelessness. Experiencing surprise also activates the vagus nerve, which can reduce inflammation in the body, and releases oxytocin, which is commonly associated with connection and building relationships, Kultner said.
“Fear helps you think creatively, it helps you be rigorous in your thinking, it calms your body and makes it receptive to the world,” Keltner told Salon in a phone interview. “Fear reduces stress, makes you feel connected, and reduces loneliness.”
Millions of us adults suffer from depression, anxiety and loneliness. Long-term physical health effects. However, less than half of those experiencing these mental health problems Get them the care they need. As a result, it’s especially important to continue studying something like wonder, which anyone can access, Keltner said.
“It helps you understand the meaning of your life, and that’s what it’s all about,” Kaltner said. “We’re in a lot of crises right now, and we need to reorganize.”
Brown plans to study whether the sense of surprise Psychedelics may invoke some mental health effects Given its similarity. The idea is to see if any of the same neurological biomarkers are identified when people experience fear when using psychedelics.
“A huge piece of the Cycladic experience is this oneness with the universe, this ability to connect with other people,” Brown said. “I just see this as a public health issue for research that’s so important to the human condition, and how many people have depression and anxiety.”
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