Horizon: The Truth About Personality

Appear · #1 10th July 2013, 22:53

Just thought I'd mention tonight's Horizon as it explored a few areas that may be of interest. It examines some of the more recent findings in genetics and neuroscience related to anxiety and depression, and a few different methods of treating them. Worth a watch!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...t_Personality/

Would be interested to hear about what others thought about it. Hadn't heard of cognitive bias modification before, looks interesting, I'd like a go!

Progress · #2 10th July 2013, 23:41

I thought it was very interesting (I think there are 3 threads about it now!)
It helped me realise something that's been gradually surfacing from my subconscious - about certain negative things I can get a bit obsessive about and that I need to avoid.
I also put some Enya on afterwards and had a go at meditating which seemed to work. Might try it regularly.

tomlpool · #3 11th July 2013, 00:59

mindhabits.com have a trial and full version you can get of a cbm program. I bought it after watching the program lol, gave it a try and it is pretty cool but too early to tell if its any help! Worth a punt at £15, for the other part iv been meditating for some time (months on and off) but still getting the hang of it.

Appear · #4 11th July 2013, 14:09

Yeah, I'm having a go at meditation again after trying it for a bit a while back and giving up. Trouble is I'm quite impatient! Definitely find it relaxing though.

Nice find tomlpool! Haven't downloaded the full program yet, but they've got a free app that seems quite good. Basically the same as shown on the programme but it doesn't track you reaction time so you can't compare it to previous attempts.

Would be interested to hear how you get on with the full version.

PussyRiot · #5 11th July 2013, 15:50

I am going to look for this now! Anything is worth a try and I am desperate to try anything at the moment.

Progress · #6 11th July 2013, 16:03

Very interesting to know that Michael Mosley himself is a worrier and insomniac.

talisman · #7 11th July 2013, 18:44

You can do the faces exercise online. Just scroll down and click 'Attentional Training Game'. I seem to be pretty good at missing the happy faces for ages. lol

http://www.rainybrainsunnybrain.com/bbc-horizon/

Mr_Bean · #8 11th July 2013, 19:10

I didn't know the smiley face exercise goes on forever. I was waiting for it to end and give me a result.

Mr_Bean · #9 11th July 2013, 19:14

test told me a pessimist, but I scored high on the cognitive bias. But thats because I cheated and blanked out the faces.

black_mamba · #10 11th July 2013, 19:21

Just watched this on iplayer. Very good. I've been practising mindful meditation for years now and I managed to switch from pessimism to optimism (along with some help from a very inspirational woman I know) so was really glad to see it highlighted here. Amazing to think I actually made physical changes to my brain in that process!!

Dounia · #11 11th July 2013, 19:30

OOh I'm going to watch this later. Do I have to meditate? Not got much patience!

framlingen · #12 11th July 2013, 20:04

I have recorded this so am going to watch it soon!

PussyRiot · #13 11th July 2013, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb

But thats because I cheated and blanked out the faces.

Appear · #14 11th July 2013, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by talisman

You can do the faces exercise online. Just scroll down and click 'Attentional Training Game'. I seem to be pretty good at missing the happy faces for ages. lol

http://www.rainybrainsunnybrain.com/bbc-horizon/

Oh nice, I didn't see this when I looked on the website before. I guess I do only tend to notice the negative :P

OrdinaryJoe · #15 11th July 2013, 20:13

It was very good and kind of reinforced the point to me that social anxiety is a real illness caused by over-activity in certain parts of the brain. I can see how mediation might help in calming you down but I know already that I wouldn't find the time or motivation to do it every day.

Caribou · #16 11th July 2013, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb

I didn't know the smiley face exercise goes on forever. I was waiting for it to end and give me a result.

Me too

black_mamba · #17 11th July 2013, 20:17

You don't have to meditate every day for it to have an effect and help you though. It becomes a habit such that sometimes you do it without realising it. Even when I don't meditate at all for days or weeks it's OK because I've laid the groundwork for healthier thought processes back when I meditated more regularly.

Also I was seriously impatient too but patience can be learnt. :-)

Appear · #18 11th July 2013, 20:25

I've started by doing it in bed. Had a go last night before I went to sleep and again before I got up this morning. Quite a good way to start I think if you're naturally quite lazy yet find it difficult to relax like me!

BritishPeace · #19 11th July 2013, 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrdinaryJoe

social anxiety is a real illness caused by over-activity in certain parts of the brain

cause/effect

There's really very little evidence that social anxiety is caused by 'overactivity' of certain parts of the brain. A bit of a myth that is.

BritishPeace · #20 12th July 2013, 23:18

If you give me 2 people, one anxious, one not, they will have almost the exact same brain waves, neurofunction, and anatomy. Negative life experiences are what count, not too much/too little serotonin etc.

BritishPeace · #21 12th July 2013, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by biscuits

There is a correlation between hyperactivity in parts of the brain and SA

Btw in what areas of the brain is there a correlation between hyperactivity in parts of the brain and SA?

Appear · #22 12th July 2013, 23:28

If I remember rightly from the programme, fMRIs show that in people who are more pessimistic and prone to anxiety, the right side of the brain is more active than the left. They referred to it as cerebral asymmetry.

I've probably majorly oversimplified it there, but it was something along those lines. May watch some if it again if I get the chance.

BritishPeace · #23 12th July 2013, 23:32

The right side obviously has half the function of the entire human body, so by this token half of their body is going wrong?

Appear · #24 12th July 2013, 23:54

Not sure it's quite that clear cut.

Just had a quick watch of that section, and it's the right side of the frontal cortex that studies have shown to be more active in people prone to pessimism, neuroticism and anxiety. It's not suggested it's causal, just correlative, therefore acts as a good indicator when trying to determine a person's general disposition. They're not sure why though!

Still, interesting stuff.

Mr_Bean · #25 14th July 2013, 12:44

This makes a lot of sense. The idea of even being in a karoake bar would start excessive activity for me on the right side.