Mean Girls, Negativity Bias & Mindfulness

When my family and I moved to Canada from the Philippines, it was probably the very first time I realized that I was of a different race. A few days into attending elementary school for the first time in Canada, a group of stylish young girls started to pick on me because I looked physically different than them and because my name is so unique. 

In case you didn't read my bio, I'm Marlo and nice to meet you! 

In a classroom full of Jennies and Kellies, I stood out big time!

When I would walk home from school, I would be followed around and get called names other than my own. If I wasn't teased and bullied for my name or how I looked, I would be made fun of for the lunches I brought in.

My family eventually moved to another city and a year before graduating high school, the same girl who used to bully and taunt me ended up at the same high school as me. I had grown up and had more confidence and when I found out that she attended my high school and was telling everyone that we were friends, I decided to talk to her about how she treated me way back in elementary. 

My own negativity bias from being bullied made me think that this young woman would be the same but to my surprise, she was very understanding and was sincerely sorry for how she acted. She admitted that she was wrong to have treated me that way and I ended up forgiving her and having a friendly rapport with her throughout high school.

This specific memory has taught me that often times when we relate to others who appear different than us, if we aren't mindful or fully aware, our negativity bias can hijack our thinking. 

At this point, you are probably wondering what negativity bias means.

From an evolutionary standpoint, our ancestors had to be able to quickly discern dangerous situations in order to survive. For example, if they were out hunting for food in the jungle or Savannah, they had to be able to react quickly if they saw a larger predator after them.

The human brain is an amazing organ that has evolved over time and because of the negativity bias effect, the brain often does the following:

• It will look out for negative news, situations and events. For example, have you noticed that you are more likely to remember a sad or tragic story than a happy one? That's because your brain is actually primed to remember negative situations as a way to prevent you from repeating them or making mistakes (Hanson, 2018).

• Due to the brain's natural tendency towards negativity bias, you are more likely to be hyper-focused when stressed and in doing so, lose the ability to see the big picture in a given situation. For our ancestors, they needed to be hyper-focused so that they wouldn't either eat poisonous food or get killed by a predator (Hanson, 2018). 

• Since our brains have evolved even more, specifically in the neural networks of the mid-line of the cortex, not only are humans more likely to be hyper-focused under duress and perceived danger but there is also more active mental rumination. The combination of seeing only the details and excessive rumination can impact the ability to calmly see the bigger picture of a given situation (Hanson, 2018). Think crazy toilet paper buying in excess that's happening right now which seems connected to the fears that people are having about the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) that is happening world-wide or in my case, my own excessive checking of the news. Yup I'm just as affected and often times have to remind myself that looking at all the bad news isn't helping my own fears and anxieties.

• Lastly and this is the part that really fascinates me most is the fact that when we are hyper-vigilant and aroused from perceived stress on a regular basis, the brain becomes more sensitized to stress due to the levels of the stress cortisol regularly flooding the brain. There is definitely a connection with repeated exposure to stressful stimuli and how the brain can be shaped to be more stressed over time (Hanson, 2018).

Again, I'd like to emphasize that negativity bias isn't good or bad, it just is. It is part of our evolution. Our ancestors needed to be able to discern very quickly the dangers that could potentially lead to death or injury but as modern humans, negativity bias often leads to perceived threats that may not actually exist. And if we aren't willing to challenge our negativity bias, we can also make poor judgments with information, situations and people. *Think about all the racist shit happening right now because of the COVID-19 virus.*

So how does this tie in with mindfulness and meditation? Well, to recap, mindfulness is the ability to be aware of what's going on in a non-judgmental way, whereas meditation is a form of brain exercise that can teach us to cultivate mindfulness. 

When people start to practice mindfulness meditation it can actually change how the brain responds to stress over time. Since the brain's neuroplasticity is experience-dependent, it is important to practice mindfulness meditation regularly and consistently for real change to occur.

A research study by Lazar et al in 2005 had shown that there is cortical thickening in parts of the brain such as the right anterior insula in long-term experienced meditation practitioners. Furthermore, their study has shown there is cortical thickening in areas that are specifically linked to somatosensory, auditory, visual and interoceptive processing (Lazar et al, 2005). 

If there's one thing I've learned about my own personal mindfulness meditation practice, there is power in understanding my own inner landscape. It might seem counter-intuitive to do a practice like mindfulness meditation where you are experiencing your breath or your body sensations but having awareness of your internal landscape can give you a felt sense of agency. 

I have felt the power of tuning in during distressing times. It doesn't mean that I deal with each situation well but when I've been able to tune in with my own body, I've come to understand that pausing and getting in touch with what's happening internally slows me down enough so that I can see the big picture instead of reacting blindly to my judgments and assumptions of others, situations and events.

The excerpt from The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D says it so poignantly...

"Knowing what we feel is the first step to knowing why we feel that way."

For more information, I highly suggest the following: 

*Resilient: How to Grown An Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, And Happiness by Rick Hanson PH.d. 

*Research Article, "Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness" by Lazar et al, 2005.

*The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, And Body In The Healing Of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.