Beliefs that stick can lead to suffering.

Beliefs that become entrenched within individuals can lead to significant psychological distress, particularly when these beliefs diverge from reality. When the human system creates strong predictions about the world, these predictions may become resistant to change, resulting in a mismatch between how individuals perceive the world and how it truly is. For example, depression can manifest when one believes they cannot fit into the world, whether due to self-perception or external circumstances, and this belief often persists despite changing conditions. Similarly, PTSD exemplifies a scenario where adaptive beliefs formed in high-stress environments, like war, become maladaptive in peaceful contexts. The core issue lies in the 'sticky quality' of these divergent beliefs; they remain entrenched even against contrary evidence, leading to suffering and potentially reinforcing their own existence, as they resist updates aligning with current realities. Such rigid beliefs hinder the capacity for happiness and adaptability.