I think emotions are over-classified. There are only a few major neurotransmitters that determine our limbic experience, and there is continuity between them. So, in the Kubler-Ross framework for the experience of extreme adverse events, it’s probably more accurate to describe as a transition from sympathetic to parasympathetic, and return to normal.
But ultimately, the cognitive component in all Kubler-Ross emotional stages is the same: a negative comparison of reality versus expectation, on some perceptual timeline. It takes small amounts of dopamine and adrenaline to make changes that affect reality, and serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins etc to accept and ignore reality. Those are really the only choices: do something, or stop caring.
But what happens when you mix them incorrectly?
And this is now more editorial, but I think the problems occur when a brain is constantly hitting the cocktail of accept and ignore to mask the effects of a desire for change. Eventually the inhibitory ligands fail to control the overwhelming buildup, and you get this flood of “do something” mixing in with the “don’t care” cocktail. So that cocktail says, “do something big, and don’t care about the result”.
That might explain a lot of risky human behavior: thrill seeking, promiscuity, gambling, substance abuse, etc. Do something big, and don’t care about the result. It seems completely illogical and stupid, but it’s exactly how we’ve been training our brains since birth.
The “don’t care” cocktail is how we get along and be nice to everybody. And yet we are never good enough, and under threat of losing everything, so we must “do something”, even when there’s not much logical connection between action and desired result.
For instance, the connection between the desire to have a nice family and the action of grinding leetcode is incredibly weak and uncertain, but you have to muster the dopamine for it anyway. And then after years of thankless toil, you finally have a job, but it’s layoff season and you have to accept all sorts of terrible deceit as everybody you’ve been so nice and giving for is stealing credit and shifting blame.
And if you’ve gotten this far, I’ll give you a little story. Things can get crazy when layoffs are announced. One time, this guy was yelling at me about how they didn’t need a data scientist (me), and then he opened up his vest and pulled a gun on me. Real-deal loaded Beretta M9. Pointed straight at me and then slammed on the table. That one messed me up for a while. I know it sounds crazy, but I didn’t associate the things going on in my head with that incident and didn’t say anything, but I was really not feeling well. I was maniacally focused on proving my value, stopped sleeping, and did some relatively groundbreaking work. Eventually I requested two weeks of leave at the worst possible time. While away, I received notification of a prestigious award, and a layoff.
But ultimately, the cognitive component in all Kubler-Ross emotional stages is the same: a negative comparison of reality versus expectation, on some perceptual timeline. It takes small amounts of dopamine and adrenaline to make changes that affect reality, and serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins etc to accept and ignore reality. Those are really the only choices: do something, or stop caring.
But what happens when you mix them incorrectly?
And this is now more editorial, but I think the problems occur when a brain is constantly hitting the cocktail of accept and ignore to mask the effects of a desire for change. Eventually the inhibitory ligands fail to control the overwhelming buildup, and you get this flood of “do something” mixing in with the “don’t care” cocktail. So that cocktail says, “do something big, and don’t care about the result”.
That might explain a lot of risky human behavior: thrill seeking, promiscuity, gambling, substance abuse, etc. Do something big, and don’t care about the result. It seems completely illogical and stupid, but it’s exactly how we’ve been training our brains since birth.
The “don’t care” cocktail is how we get along and be nice to everybody. And yet we are never good enough, and under threat of losing everything, so we must “do something”, even when there’s not much logical connection between action and desired result.
For instance, the connection between the desire to have a nice family and the action of grinding leetcode is incredibly weak and uncertain, but you have to muster the dopamine for it anyway. And then after years of thankless toil, you finally have a job, but it’s layoff season and you have to accept all sorts of terrible deceit as everybody you’ve been so nice and giving for is stealing credit and shifting blame.
And if you’ve gotten this far, I’ll give you a little story. Things can get crazy when layoffs are announced. One time, this guy was yelling at me about how they didn’t need a data scientist (me), and then he opened up his vest and pulled a gun on me. Real-deal loaded Beretta M9. Pointed straight at me and then slammed on the table. That one messed me up for a while. I know it sounds crazy, but I didn’t associate the things going on in my head with that incident and didn’t say anything, but I was really not feeling well. I was maniacally focused on proving my value, stopped sleeping, and did some relatively groundbreaking work. Eventually I requested two weeks of leave at the worst possible time. While away, I received notification of a prestigious award, and a layoff.