
The Science Behind Guilt and Shame
Though guilt and shame are similar and often used interchangeably, recent neuroscience research suggests that they are very different emotional processes. They both underpin self-correction but they are made up of different brain chemistry, are based on different beliefs, and motivate different reactions (1). Guilt arises when we think that we have done damage […]

The Science Behind Stress
Stress is the way that our mind and body react to demands or threats. Whereas anxiety is worry about what might happen in the future, stress is the response to what is happening now. Why We Experience Stress Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has been studying emotions for over 30 years. Damasio suggests that all […]

What Stands in the Way of Creative Thinking?
Perhaps you’ve heard of the amygdala. It is the lightning-fast brain section responsible for detecting potential threats and prompting fear responses, such as fight-or-flight. The amygdala sends signals to the hypothalamus to release bursts of stress hormones (such as cortisol and adrenaline), which promote arousal and prompt us to enact safety strategies. […]

The Science Behind Fear and Anxiety
Fear is the physical, mental, and emotional reaction to a threat that is present or imminent. Anxiety is caused by imagining threats or possible future danger. Our threat perception can be rational and reasonable or wildly disproportionate and unrealistic. However, our brains have difficulty telling the difference between real and imagined threats.

The Science Behind Depression
Most of our emotional brain function happens in the Limbic system where neurotransmitters such as serotonin (which stabilises mood), dopamine (makes us feel pleasure) and GABA (calms anxiety) all play a role in our emotional wellbeing. Sometimes our complex emotional system falters and we receive either excessive or insufficient amounts of these neurotransmitters and depression […]

The Science Behind Traumatic Memories
Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio studied emotions for over 30 years. His research suggested that emotions are motivators that have evolved over millions of years (1).

The Science Behind Stuckness
In the simplest terms, all stuckness, hesitation, resistance, or inability to change can be traced back to the emotion of fear. Sometimes this fear is well founded and easy to name, but sometimes it is outside of our awareness. To understand how fear underlies our stuckness, let´s look at how all emotions work together.