i find fascinating tat when we see somebody who is nervous moving one way versus the other way, as an audience member, we have very different perceptions. Dopomine is not just the molecule reward, it's the molecule of motivation and drive. i think if people can just conceptualize that the anxiety or stress response is the same as the excitement response, they're actually identical physiologically. And that forward movement, provided it's adaptive, m toward a goal, triggers the activation of chemicals in the brain and body that will make the subsequent pursuit of those same, or similar goals more likely. That's really cool.
“There’s no difference between the physiological response to something that you’re excited about and something that you’re nervous about or dreading,” says Andrew Huberman, associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University. In this podcast episode, Huberman talks with host and lecturer Matt Abrahams about his research on the autonomic continuum, a spectrum between states of very high alertness or fear, all the way down to deep sleep, and shares how to better-use the system to your advantage.
“If people can conceptualize that the anxiety or stress response is the same as the excitement response, they feel different,” Huberman says.
Connect: