July 24, 2024

Life has felt so restless lately. Sleepness nights and groggy days make it hard to focus on work. Watching the newly released “Inside Out 2” yesterday made me realize the “anxiety guy” inside my head is the culprit.

I remember when dreaming big was easy, without fears or worries holding me back. Now, doubts creep in — am I good enough? Is this the right path? Can I achieve my dreams?

These worries and anxieties are real. They constantly tell me I’m not doing well enough, that others can succeed but I can’t. I keep searching for something I’m good at, but never find it.

I’ve been standing still, watching friends chase their dreams with excitement while I wonder when, or if, I’ll ever pursue mine. Riley Anderson from the movie faces a similar struggle, feeling lost and unsure, affecting her hockey game and her sense of self.

Inside Out 2 hit close to home, showing that anxiety is raging and messing with my life. I’ve lost most of the joy I could have felt, and sadness feels lame.

Riley is actually a gentle reminder for me, that these inner voices, these relentless doubts, are okay — to some extend. It portrays anxiety not necessarily as a villain but as a part of us that needs understanding and compassion. Through Riley’s journey, I see the importance of acknowledging our emotions, even the uncomfortable ones, and finding a way to live harmoniously with them. But how? How do I cope with these anxiety?

Though, I think Inside Out 2 is a beautiful, a poignant reminder that despite the chaos inside, we can still find our way, still chase our dreams, and still feel joy. It’s an exploration of the mind and a comforting message that we’re not alone in our struggles.

Riley and her emotions’ crew leaves me with a hopeful message, that I will be able to navigate through my inner turmoil, embrace my anxieties, and find strength to pursue my dreams. And finally joy can always be discovered.

October 15, 2023

All of us have, at one moment, felt “heart-broken”, the emotional roller coaster that can make even the toughest among us curl up with a tub of ice cream and a tear-jerker movie. When it feels as if your heart shattered into pieces, sometimes it’s even hard to quantify how hurt it feels, the other times, you feel like your chest been stomped on by an elephant and it’s impossible to breath and continue living. That’s right, heartbreak, has a story to tell.

As its core, heartbreak manifest as social pain — the profound distress experienced when social ties are absent, threatened, damaged, or lost — which shares neural and neurochemical similarities with physical pain. And it’s proven by MRI Scans that the intensity and duration of the emotional and physical pain of heartbreak are akin to the agony felt after severe physical trauma. Apparently, the same neural circuits that fire up when you got burn or bone fractured are the ones that go haywire when your crush becomes your ex.

Studies have demonstrated that the caudate nucleus, typically involved in reward detection, and the ventral tegmental area, associated with pleasure and motivation, are implicated in the experience of heartbreak. A study performed by Lucy Brown, Xiomeng Xu, and Dr. Fisher revealed that there’s heightened activity in the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, and nucleus accumbens among individuals undergoing various stages of a breakup. These regions are integral components of the brain’s reward and motivation circuitry, where the release of dopamine plays a pivotal role. 

Additionally, the prefrontal cortex part of the brain, the wise-guy behind all rational decision, responsible for decision-making and processing information objectively, tends to deactivate during heartbreak, hindering one’s ability to perceive the situation clearly. This deactivation, coupled with hyperactivity in the limbic system, disrupts the balance of hormones such as oxytocin and dopamine, making it challenging to maintain a balanced perspective. Consequently, the body responds by releasing stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, leading to a cascade of physical symptoms including cramps, tension, headaches, chest pain, dizziness, and fatigue.

So there you have it, little girl. Heartbreak isn’t just about tears and tissues; it’s about a multifaceted interplay a various neurotransmitters and brain regions in the epic saga of love gone wrong, underscoring the profound impact of social pain on an individual’s overall well-being. From the decline of oxytocin and serotonin to the surges in cortisol and depletion of dopamine, heartbreak is not solely an emotional experience but a physiological one as well, highlighting the interconnectedness of the mind and body in the face of emotional distress. Your brain is playing a wild symphony of emotions, and you, are the conductor!

“Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment“
anonymously written-a nice quote found in a Journal.