The science of optimism & how you can cultivate it

Vocab:

🟢inborn = врожденный
🟢pervasive = повсеместный
🟢find the silver lining = найти плюсы
🟢a middle ground = золотая середина
🟢reap the benefits = пожинать плоды
🟢a happy-go-lucky place = радостное и беззаботное место
🟢burn bridges = сжигать мосты (уничтожить связи)
🟢address the elephant in the room = затронуть неловкую тему
🟢be in denial = быть в отрицании

Key takeaways:

🔮 Optimism is not just an inborn trait, but can be learned and cultivated.
😊 Optimism is good for your mental health because your beliefs influence your behaviors and your emotions.
🌱 Learning optimism involves understanding and accepting both the good and bad parts of yourself. It involves shifting from thinking the whole world is bad to recognizing that bad things happen, but good things will also happen in the future.
🌈 Optimists don't deny negative events but rather acknowledge them while choosing to focus on the potential for improvement.

Share with us: Is the glass half empty or half full?

😀 Let's talk about toxic positivity - what happens when we're told to just "look on the bright side" and ignore the tough stuff. In this article we'll explore why it's crucial to embrace the full rollercoaster of emotions life throws our way.

💥Vocab:

🟢brush aside emotions = не обращать внимания на эмоции
🟢devastated = опустошенный
🟢you’re on the verge of bursting into tears = вот-вот разрыдаетесь
🟢put on a happy front = притворяться счастливым
🟢place demands on people = предъявлять требования к людям
🟢get over your difficult feelings = преодолеть сложные чувства
🟢dissuade people from seeking support = отговаривать людей обращаться за поддержкой
🟢dismiss pain = игнорировать боль
🟢exacerbate = усугублять, обострять
🟢put you in danger = подвергать опасности

💥 Key takeaways:

🟢It's okay not to feel positive all the time. While positivity is valuable, it shouldn't overshadow genuine emotions. Accepting and working through difficult feelings is an essential part of growth.
🟢Toxic positivity arises from discomfort with negative emotions.
🟢When people approach you with their problems, prioritize listening and understanding over immediately trying to solve problems.

🔔The Psychology of Habits. Part 1.

➡️Interesting facts about habits:

🟠Your life is to a large extent the sum of all your habits – good or bad.
🟠You can assert control (=установить контроль) over your life by changing your habits.
🟠It’s hard to shake off a habit (=избавиться от привычки) since it takes an average of 66 days before a new habit takes root in our brain.
🟠Habits, once ingrained, never truly vanish. They are just overpowered by other habits.
🟠40 percent of your actions are not conscious decisions but habits.
🟠Cravings (=пристрастия) are the brain’s motivator. For something to become a habit, our brain must crave (=страстно желать, жаждать) it.

➡️How do habits form?

The collection of behaviors that could be as simple as having coffee when we wake up or as complicated as running away from problems when they come. These habits didn't emerge (=появляться) overnight; rather, we gradually incorporated them into our lives (=внедрили их в нашу жизнь) until they became second nature (=вторая натура).

Habits are our brain’s way of increasing its efficiency. By transforming daily actions into habits, our brain automates these processes, enabling us to execute (=выполнять) them with minimal cognitive effort – thus freeing up our brainpower for other more important challenges.

This strategy of our brain offers remarkable advantages, allowing us to function better in life. Just imagine if you have to ponder (=обдумывать) every single task or reaction – it would leave us with little time for anything else but constant contemplation (=размышление)!

If you noticed, the first time you did something, it required a substantial amount (=значительное количество) of concentration and mental effort. However, through repetitive practice, the task gradually became more effortless. This process is called “chunking” – and it forms the foundation of habits. Every day, we rely on these “chunks” of behavior unconsciously.

#habits

🔔The 3 Step Loop of Habits. Part 2.

➡️To be able to change a negative habit, we have to understand how it forms. In the 1990s, a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered a neurological process that is at the core of every habit. This simple 3-step loop is very powerful – it is hard-wired into our brain (=это прочно вошло в наш мозг). So, to change the rules, you have to know the rules first.

➡️ Cue – is any trigger that tells your brain when and which habit to use.
➡️ Routine – is an activity, emotion or behavior.
➡️ Reward – is how your brain determines if a loop is beneficial to you or not.

For example:

➡️ Cue – You’re feeling bored.
➡️ Routine - You grab a bottle of wine.
➡️ Reward – You feel relaxed and happy.

The cue and the reward play a significant role in the formation of habits. They trigger cravings and lead to the repetition of specific behaviors or actions. So, if you aim to alter (=изменять) a habit, what would you need to do?

⚙️ If you only focused on changing the routine such as abstaining from (=воздерживаться от) drinking wine, it would lead to dissatisfaction. Your brain may perceive the loop as ineffective, reinforcing (=подкреплять) the existing habit of drinking. Our brain craves fulfillment and satisfaction. To be able to alter a negative habit, it is essential to replace the routine within the loop with an alternative that provides a comparable (=сопоставимый) reward. Instead of opting for a bottle of wine in moments of boredom, consider activities like jogging or watching a captivating movie. These activities yield the same reward (=приносит одинаковое вознаграждение) – you will feel relaxed afterwards. Your brain will think that this particular loop works. As you do it more often, and experience the same reward, your brain will gradually replace the old loop associated with reaching for wine when bored.

This 3 step loop shows you that you have the power to change a bad habit that’s causing you more harm than good.

#habits

🔔 The power of habits to create positive changes. Part 3.

Many people have habits that they want to shake off. Smoking, for example, is a habit that is hard to break. People try to quit, but the cravings overwhelm them and they fall off the wagon (сорваться) and relapse (взяться за старое). It’s not for lack of determination that they fail. It's due to a lack of understanding of how habits are formed. Now that you understand how habits take hold of (овладеть) your life, you can start creating new loops. It is indeed possible to break free from the grip of (вырваться из тисков) any negative habit.

You can manifest positive habits in your life by following these steps:

➡️ Examine the Routine – This would be the behavior you want to change. If being an alcoholic is a problem, what makes you do it? What gratification (удовлетворение) do you derive from it?

➡️ Analyze the Reward – Drinking gives you hangovers and breeds (порождать, вызывать) other problems. But obviously, you get an immediate reward when you reach for that bottle. What is the reward? Is it an escape, the immediate feeling of relaxation or the distraction? Once you know the why of the behavior, it’ll be easier to find a better habit that will give you the same reward.

➡️ Identify the Cue – What drives your behavior? Triggers can be stealthy, so you might need to observe your own behavior and take notes. What actions preceded an undesired behavior? What were you feeling? What reward were you seeking? Recognizing the habit and understanding its reinforcement is the first step to change.

Remember that the trick is to replace the routine with a healthier action or behavior that will yield the same rewards. Obviously, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Even if you tell your brain that a certain habit has a reward won’t mean that the habit will stick. But, with enough repetition and reinforcement, your brain will eventually understand the positive effect of a routine and crave the reward.

#habits

📝 Habit stacking is one of the most effective techniques you can use for successfully introducing new habits. The idea is to use an already existing habit to help organize your new habits sensibly and logically. The existing behavior acts as a 'trigger', so you are teaching your brain that, when you have completed your existing habit, you then do your new one. Habit stacking works because your current habits are well-ingrained.

✏️ The formula is simple:
'After/before [current habit], I will [new habit].' ===> 'After I finish my workout, I will stretch for 10 minutes.'

✨ Simple yet incredibly effective! Transforming your life might seem daunting, but the concept of habit stacking is a game-changer.

Vocab:
🟡 it’s all too easy to find excuses = слишком легко находить оправдания
🟡 have sth at your disposal that can help = иметь под рукой что-то, что может помочь
🟡 well-ingrained habits = прочно закрепившиеся привычки
🟡do sth unconsciously = делать что-то бессознательно
🟡once you get the hang of it = как только освоите это
🟡a window of opportunity = удобный момент
🟡avoid ambiguity = избегать двусмысленности
🟡set yourself up for success = настроить себя на успех
🟡take on a new habit = взяться за новую привычку
🟡go easy on yourself = будьте снисходительны к себе
🟡slip up = ошибиться
🟡stick with your new habit = придерживаться своей новой привычки
🟡until the behavior becomes ingrained = до тех пор, пока привычка не закрепится

🔋 Dopamine plays a vital role in keeping us satisfied, motivated, and feeling on top of the world. But how can we naturally boost our dopamine levels? In this article we dive deep into 5 simple and science-backed ways to up your dopamine levels!

Vocab from the article:

🔵to feel deflated = чувствовать себя опустошенным
🔵to feel apathetic = чувствовать апатию
🔵our natural rhythm can be set off track = наш естественный биоритм может сбиться
🔵sleep deprivation = недосыпание
🔵to dim the lights before bed = приглушить свет перед сном
🔵to uplift people = поднимать дух людей
🔵it increased dopamine release by a whopping 65% = он увеличил высвобождение дофамина на целых 65%
🔵it stands to reason that = само собой разумеется, что
🔵to up your dopamine levels = повысить уровень дофамина
🔵to raise your spirits = поднять настроение
🔵to struggle with fatigue = иметь проблемы с усталостью

📎 Check out the comments for the PDF

The 18 Early Maladaptive Schemas. Part 1

🧐 Have you ever wondered why you may repeat unhealthy, yet familiar, patterns in relationships with others or why you have particular tendencies to view yourself, others, and the world in a certain way?

👉 Schema Therapy is a type of therapy that helps people understand how their early experiences affect the way they see themselves. The basic goal of ST is to learn how to get your basic needs met in a healthy way through changing maladaptive schemas. When core basic childhood needs such as safety, predictability/consistency, love/nurturance/attention, acceptance/praise, empathy, guidance/protection, and validation go significantly unmet, maladaptive schemas (дезадаптивные схемы) may form as a result.

✨ Vocab (picture above):

🔵ABANDONMENT = Покинутость
🔵MISTRUST / ABUSE = Недоверие / Ожидание жестокого обращения
🔵EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION = Эмоциональная депривация
🔵DEFECTIVENESS / SHAME = Дефективность / Стыдливость
🔵SOCIAL ISOLATION / ALIENATION = Социальная отчужденность

🔵DEPENDENCE / INCOMPETENCE = Зависимость / Беспомощность
🔵VULNERABILITY = Уязвимость
🔵ENMESHMENT / UNDEVELOPED SELF = Запутанность / Неразвитая идентичность
🔵FAILURE = Несостоятельность

🔵ENTITLEMENT / GRANDIOSITY = Привилегированность /Грандиозность
🔵INSUFFICIENT SELF-CONTROL / SELF-DISCIPLINE = Недостаточность самоконтроля
🔵SUBJUGATION = Покорность
🔵SELF-SACRIFICE = Самопожертвование
🔵APPROVAL-SEEKING = Поиск одобрения

🔵NEGATIVITY / PESSIMISM = Негативизм / Пессимизм
🔵EMOTIONAL INHIBITION = Подавление эмоций
🔵UNRELENTING STANDARDS = Жёсткие Стандарты
🔵PUNITIVENESS = Пунитивность