Well-Being

Exaptation, Nature’s Way to Bridge Past and Future

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Reading Time: 7 minutes Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic. Frank Herbert – Dune  Exaptation, a term coined by palaeontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth Vrba, refers to repurposing a trait during evolution. Initially serving one specific function, a trait can be co-opted for a different purpose. Charles Darwin was the first to propose that a trait’s function can evolve and change over time. This idea was initially referred to as “preadaptation”. However, because …

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Tending the Garden of Our Soul

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Reading Time: 4 minutes Frog was in his garden. Toad came walking by.  “What a very fine garden  you have, Frog,” he said.  “Yes”, said Frog. “It is very nice, but it was hard work.”  “I wish I had a garden,” said Toad.  “Here are some flower seeds. Plant them in the ground”, said Frog, “and soon you too will have a garden”.  “How soon?” asked Toad.  “Quite soon,” said Frog.  Toad ran home. He planted the flower seeds.  “Now seeds,” said Toad, “start growing.”  Toad walked up and down a few times. The seeds did not …

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Interoception, the Sense that Builds the Mind

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Our five senses are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. Proprioception is frequently called “the sixth sense”, which helps us with body position, movement and action. This sense allows for walking in the darkness without losing balance. The finger nose proprioception test is a bedside test to check if a patient can touch their nose with the finger while the eyes are closed. Patients with proprioceptive impairment will miss the tip of the nose.   The vestibular system is a sensory system occasionally called “the seventh sense”. This system …

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Between Two Wor(l)ds: Schadenfreude and Mudita

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Reading Time: 8 minutes There are four possible ways in which we can combine our reactions when we observe another person’s happiness or unhappiness: we can feel pleasure at another’s unhappiness (schadenfreude), displeasure at another’s unhappiness (compassion), displeasure at another’s happiness (envy), or pleasure at their happiness (mudita). Schadenfreude is a word borrowed from German, composed by Schaden (“damage/harm”) and Freude (“joy”). Thus, schadenfreude means tingling or even waves of pleasure noticing another’s misfortunes. The critical difference between schadenfreude and sadism is that sadism gives pleasure by inflicting pain. In contrast, …

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Seeing the World through the Japanese Concept of Wabi-Sabi

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept through which the world is accepted as beautifully imperfect with humble and subtle flaws as it naturally grows and decays. Etymologically, the noun wabi is better understood through its adjective form wabishii (wretched, dreadful). In time, a negative connotation of wabi transformed through the influence of Zen philosophy, with its core concepts of accepting and contemplating imperfection and impermanence, into the quiet simplicity of rustic beauty, for things created by nature or people.  Wabi is beauty coming from subtle imperfections.  The noun sabi is …

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Emotional Escapism: How Watching TV Shows Help Us Cope with Life’s Stressors

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Reading Time: 4 minutes I simply couldn’t finish a new tv series for the last two years, as I was more drawn to my comfort shows, Monk, Brooklyn 99, Derry Girls, or Avatar: The Last Airbender. There is something oddly comforting in rewatching favourite tv shows when confronting pandemics, lockdowns, social injustice, or war. Comfort watching, instead of binge watching, is that gentle feeling that everything feels ok with the world. There is no twist, dialogue, or scene that could surprise me when I rewatch these shows, giving me a reassuring impression …

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Cognitive Reappraisal or How to Cope with Unpleasant Feelings through Reframing

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Reading Time: 5 minutes In psychologist Guy Winch’s book The Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships, and Enhance Self-Esteem, I came across one of the most descriptive explanations of how to handle the emotional load of uncomfortable situations.  What we call feelings are complex experiences composed of several elements. Anger, frustration, sadness, rage, exasperation, etc., are our subjective experiences (“feelings”) of particular events in our life. First, these emotional experiences are always accompanied by physiological reactions: potential elevated heart rate and blood pressure, stress hormones …

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Self-fulfilling Prophecies: Can Our Beliefs And Expectations Affect Reality?

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right. Henry Ford  Self-fulfilling prophecies describe predictions of a situation that can change our thoughts and behaviours, thus becoming real. Essentially, self-fulfilling prophecies are the concept that beliefs and expectations can create their reality. Our beliefs about ourselves affect our actions towards others.Our actions towards others influence other people’ beliefs about us. Their beliefs cause their actions towards us.  Their actions reinforce our beliefs about ourselves.  This feedback loop can become self-fulfilling. …

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