Psychology Today: How the Brain Handles Modern Life

"Managing life as if it were a device, constantly figuring out what to do instead of having skills, memories, and other people to guide us typify our days. These are the demands of modern life, and they are causing us harm. The pace and intensity of these demands are like no other time in our history and are surely part of the picture. But what is it exactly that is being harmed and how does that translate into mental illness and poor well-being?

The Seat of Executive Function

Research in neuroscience over the past 30 years provides us with an answer in the workings of the PFC (Prefrontal cortex) . The demands of modern life I mentioned above can only be managed by the PFC – the most advanced brain system we have. The PFC is the last thing to evolve in the human brain and the most powerful. It is how we built our technological world.

The PFC has an amazing repertoire of abilities, and like anything else, a few weak points. These are things like selective attention (the ability to choose where to put your attention despite distractions), mental shifting (changing focus and activity on a dime, when circumstances demand it) and making mental representations (seeing things in our mind’s eye that don’t exist in the world).

Two more functions deserve mention. One is working memory. This is like RAM on a computer. It is all the things we can keep in mind for easy access of conscious thought. The second is our ability to inhibit reactions to emotions.

Fault Lines in the PFC

As mentioned, the PFC has two defining fault lines. One, is that the PFC does not work well, or at all, under stress. The other is that both brain-imaging and brain-injury studies tell us that mental illness will result from damaging or chronically impairing the PFC.

The PFC was meant for quiet contemplation, not frenzied work. It can do the latter, but not for long. We use it all day, every day, in normal work and under stress. We see the fault lines when it’s difficult to concentrate, we can’t find words, or irritability constantly breaks through. This is the PFC under stress.

By doing this all our lives we make ourselves vulnerable to any mental disorder we may carry genetically or be prone to for other reasons. Scientists can now see the actual change of a normal PFC to one producing mental illness(1) by stressing(2) the PFC. Here is where the harm is done.

Modern life, with its incessant work, cognitive demands and lack of social connection all meet in the PFC. Once you have a mental disorder, you will always be more prone to a recurrence. The more episodes, the more prone you become. But the stress on the PFC can be undone or at least minimized. This is where our work lies.

Read the full article here!

Reflection:

How prone are you to stress? What do you do about it?

#Stress #Brain #Modernlife #MentalHealth