The RAE dictionary says that happiness is a state of pleasant spiritual and physical satisfaction but, a little later, it recognizes that for this to happen, there should also be an absence of inconveniences or stumbling: something unlikely in life that, for definition, it takes place in a changing environment. However, even socially, it seems that one is obliged “to be happy” … The problem is that this imposition of happiness makes it difficult to properly manage the emotions called “negative” … And the brain needs both! Emotions such as sadness, fear or anger are not “negative”, but necessary and loaded with enormous adaptive advantages. Let’s see why.
What happens when an individual moves out of his “comfort zone”? That your exploring brain initiates all the necessary mechanisms to cope with the changes. Thus, the amygdala directs the emotional control of its actions, while the hippocampus limits its scope based on the previous experiences fixed in its memory. The brain can then cope with fear and alertness, emotions that guarantee its integrity . Or you may have to negotiate with a possible disappointment due to an unpleasant experience: thus begins the necessary grief that will allow you to re-evaluate your situation. Finally, you can even develop a powerful anger that will cause you to fight against what is dangerous or unfair.
But, obviously, these situations of alarm should not go on forever. For this reason, our brain, then, also initiates a series of mitigating mechanisms of this unpleasant set of sensations. These “recovery” responses are in many cases initiated by chemical signals such as the release of oxytocin that communicates a sense of confidence in the environment.
Accept negative emotions
These mechanisms occur in the brain of all people, but it can happen that, when they start up and intensify, in a desperate attempt not to accept the “negative” emotion because it is too painful, these attenuating mechanisms of the brain fail to return it to the “comfort zone”. This is what happens, for example, when one is a victim of extreme or continuous violence.
In these situations the individual displays all his neuro-psychological defense and recovery mechanisms but, in this case, they may stop being the solution to become part of the problem. Blocking the fear or anger senses will no longer allow you to regain calm after alertness , as occurs in post-transmautic stress. The mechanisms of trust in the environment can reach such a level of attachment and vulnerability that in the end the person is not able to react against the origin of the aggression, as can happen to victims of gender violence.
In short, it is necessary to listen carefully and not try to anesthetize the brain that suffers : it warns us, manages and corrects the changes that occur, thereby guaranteeing our survival.
Susana P. Gaytán is a researcher at the NeuroEndocrinology Group Against Gender Violence at the University of Seville. Article written in collaboration with the UCC + i of the University of Seville.
