Chemical Shmemical

Posted on October 08, 2024 by Karina Schneidman, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Well, let’s say you’re walking outside on a lovely day; the weather is perfect, and suddenly you see a cliff ahead of you. Do you just continue walking because you suddenly feel the urge to attempt to fly, or do you back off and stay away from the cliff? Maybe you even walk up to the cliff and look down, right? But again, do you walk off the cliff? No? Why not? Maybe you think you can fly.

So, who stopped you from walking off that cliff? An antidepressant? A breathing technique? An anti-anxiety medication?

It was YOU.

You stopped yourself. Why? Why did you stop? I can tell you why, but you might not like it. You stopped yourself because you have logical cognitive thinking processes in place that help protect you and keep you aware. However, there is such a thing as emotional laziness; we all suffer from it at times. Sometimes we would rather play the victim and feed into whatever narrative keeps us in the negative feedback loop, because it is so much harder to do the work and talk ourselves off the ledge.

I often ask my clients if they can give themselves a compliment or some validation, and they just pause. Sometimes they say something like, “I didn’t mess up as much today,” and still play the victim. Other times, they pause, think about it, and can’t come up with an answer. THIS is where the problems lie. If you can’t manage to validate or compliment yourself for the work you’re doing, why on earth would you ever be successful? If you can’t validate your progress, you’ll deteriorate in your failures.

Did you know that often negative thoughts release adrenaline, which can make you feel a high? Cortisol is released too, and that also alters your chemical balance, making you feel a physical and mental change.

So when you remain in a negative feedback loop, you can experience a kind of gratification—both physical and mental. The release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol can create a rush or heightened state, which can feel stimulating, even if it’s ultimately harmful. This cycle can make it difficult to break free, as the temporary high from negative thoughts or feelings can overshadow the long-term consequences.

This is where accountability comes into play. Do you want to accept your life as it is, or do you want to grow and move forward? Ultimately, it’s always up to you. It isn’t about a relationship, a job, an illness, politics, or anything else. It’s ALL about YOU.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but politics can be frustrating, people get sick, relationships can be complicated, and jobs will change. In the end, you will look back and see how much of it broke you and how much of it built you up.

Are you building or breaking?